SSDD
by K2JC
Summary: After an anomaly in Slipspace sent the Assault Carrier, Power Overwhelming, off course and into another dimension where everything is a whole lotta different. One thing stayed the same. Humanity is once more threatened by genocidal aliens. Is this really a thing? Where Humans are constantly attacked by alien assholes? Well... Same Shit, Different Day.
1. S.S.D.D: Prologue

Captain...

Captain...

William, wake up!

Captain William Clarke's eyes snapped open and he immediately took in his surroundings. Everyone on the bridge was either on the ground, like he was, or shakily standing up. Groaning, William pushed himself on the ground and turned to the source of the voice who woke him up.

'Standing' on the holotank was the ship's AI, MND 0189-8 or Mindy, as she likes to be called. Her physical appearance was that of a eighteen year old girl. Her 'attire' consisted of a plain shirt under a suit vest with the sleeves rolled to her elbows. Formfitting suit pants and sneakers. Her 'hair' was tied in a messy bun and a pencil was tucked behind her ear. She wore reading glasses and held a holopad on her left hand. Despite not really needing them, she kept it for her own reasons.

Mindy sighed in relief before pushing her glasses up "You had me worried there, Captain. Everyone was coming to but you were taking too long."

William steadied himself on the holotank. He shook the dizziness away and addressed the AI "What happened, Mindy?"

"Power Overwhelming entered Slipspace along with Unrivaled and Unstoppable. We were still in Slipspace when Unrivaled hailed us and asked what was taking us so long."

William nodded "Yeah, I remember that."

"Do you remember when the ship nearly shook itself to pieces? Judging by the look on your face, you don't. Something else happened that knocked the everyone off their feet. What looked like an EMP struck the ship but instead of electronics getting hit, it hit organics. Overwhelming changed course, I tried to set it back but nothing worked. Then everyone started waking up."

As the AI finished, William finally stood straight and stared at the in Slipspace through the window. His attention was called elsewhere when Mr. Clayton told him that they were about to exit Slipspace.

"Thank you, Mr. Clayton." He nodded to Mindy who nodded back and showed him that she was typing on the holopad.

"You're live, sir."

"Attention, Power Overwhelming. We are about to exit Slipspace. I want everyone back to their stations ASAP. What happened to us is currently unknown but we do know that our course was changed. Unfortunately, Mindy did her best but something is keeping us from setting back to our original course. I don't know what we'll face once we get outta here but I sure as hell want this ship to be ready for anything. To your stations!"

"Oorah!"

"Captain!" Mindy yelled "Exiting Slipspace now."

"You heard the lady, double time!" William turned to Mindy "Has the Director been briefed yet?"

"He's already suited up, sir. SPARTAN Fireteams Eagle and Boar are prepped up and ready to go. They're awaiting your orders, sir."

"Good."

"Captain!"

William turned away from Mindy and looked at Ensign Hunt "What is it, Ensign?"

Hunt looked at him with wide, disbelieving eyes "You're not gonna believe this sir. Look!" The Ensign pointed at the window. William looked outside and he couldn't believe what he saw. Everyone in the bridge stopped what they were doing and stared slack-jawed.

There she was... Earth. But that was not what stunned the crew. What made them stop was the fact that parts of her were burning. Flaming wreckage from destroyed ships orbited the planet while unidentified ships made their way to Earth. The whole thing spelled 'Invasion'.

Clenching his fist in anger, William yelled to the ship's comms "This is Captain Clarke, all hands. To battle stations! Earth is under attack! I repeat. Earth is under attack! Mindy, prime the MACs, Archer Missiles and Point-defense Guns! Line 'em up and start killing these bastards. It'll be a cold day in Hell before I let Earth fall into these bastards' filthy claws. Captain Clarke to Major Harrison, I want those Marines down there now!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Director Daniels, I want Eagle and Boar down there. Earth is our number one priority. Overwhelming will do whatever we can to stop them from sending anymore to Earth. SPARTAN Fireteams are at your disposal."

"Requesting permission to drop via HEVs, sir."

"Granted. You'll drop via HEV and secure an area for our Pelicans to land. Marines will take care of crowd control and evac. I'll be sending in Scorpions as support. How long 'til you're ready for the drop, Director?"

"I'm already in the egg. I got a squad of ODSTs and Eagle with me. Dropping now!"

~Line Break~

"Alright, Eagle. Time to fly."

"Sir, yes sir!"

SPARTAN Wade 'Director' Daniels smiled in satisfaction. He watched as Fireteams Eagle set themselves up in the HEVs.

"Wade!"

Daniels turned around and smiled at the redhead. A female ODST with neck length, red hair walked up to him. She wore the standard ODST armor with red decals. A BR55H strapped on her back while an MA5C was held in her hands. An M6C SOCOM was holstered on her thigh.

"See ya down there. Last to a hundred kills has to buy drinks when we're done."

"If we can find a bar that ain't wrecked, you're on Hollywood!"

Major Holly 'Hollywood' Jones grinned before stepping in to her pod. Wade nodded to her before the pod closed. The SPARTAN walked over to his pod and put his helmet on. Climbing in and closing the pod, he checked with Mindy for the pods' drop zone. The HEVs began their descent from orbit.

"Where we dropping Mindy?"

"This will be a bit tricky, sir. Right now, we're on top of Vancouver. I got a live feed on the city now. Here, take a look."

The screen on his left turned on and showed a video of the besieged city. The invaders looked like giant, cyborg squids. The squid fired a red beam of light and decimated the buildings it hit.

"We also have a problem with these guys."

The screen on his right turned on and showed a meteor touch down. What he could only describe as monsters came out of the crater and fired their weapons on some soldiers on the ground. A humanoid monster charged at one soldier tore his throat out then continued to maul the body before getting shot in the head.

"Those are their ground units. What does it remind you, sir?"

"The Flood."

"Correctomundo."

Wade sighed "ETA?"

"30 seconds. Any requests sir?"

With a small smirk on his face, he said "You know what to play, dear."

"This is DJ Mindy from Overwhelming Radio. Our first song for today: Paranoid by Black Sabbath. Enjoy."

The HEVs' speakers boomed as the song began.

"On my mark, deploy chutes." Hollywood ordered through the squad radio.

"I'm hit!"

Hollywood braced herself as a pod slammed against her and set her off course.

"Wade, I'm going off course. You're in charge of them for now. This is gonna hurt." She muttered the last part as her pod bounced against multiple buildings.

~Line Break~

"You guy alright?"

The medic tending to the wounded soldier looked at Shepard and frantically yelled "Get down! They'll see you!"

Jane looked up and saw Cannibals rise from the gunship's wreckage. Shepard dove behind cover and prepared to open fire but stopped when something crash down on the group of cannibals. One was crushed while the others were blown away from the impact. Jane observed the object that just crashed and realized it wasn't anything the Alliance made. Add to the fact that the side of the pod had 'U.N.S.C' painted on it.

One Cannibal rose from the ground only to be struck by the pod's hatch. A figure stepped out and opened fire on the remaining Cannibals.

"Eat lead and die, motherfucker!"

The figure, a female, was blindsided by a Husk.The Husk tried to maul the woman only for her to pull out a pistol and placed the barrel in the Husk's mouth before firing. The woman pushed the body off before standing from the ground and dusting herself off. She picked up her weapon and looked at Jane. The woman tilted her head before holstering the weapon on her back and pulling off her helmet.

What Jane saw shocked her to the very core. The woman had her face! The red hair, green eyes, even the freckles. The woman herself had an expression of disbelief before walking towards Jane.

"Whoa... You look like me!"

Jane tilted her head "But you don't sound like me."

Her lookalike snorted and gave a lazy, two-finger salute.

"Sup." She held out her hand "Name's Holly. But most people call me 'Hollywood'. Gonna give me your name, beautiful?"

Jane shook her head before hesitantly shaking the offered hand with an unsure smile "Jane Shepard. Gotta say, never heard of this 'UNSC' before."

Holly rose an eyebrow "Oookay. Let's talk about that after Earth isn't being destroyed by giant cyborg squids and mutant fucks, yeah?"

Jane opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by Anderson. The Admiral looked at Shepard then at Holly then Shepard again. He sighed and shook his head "We'll worry about this lookalike situation later. Shepard, there's a radio in that gunship over there. We'll take it and radio the Normandy but first." He motioned for them to follow as they walked over to the pinned soldier. Anderson put a hand on the soldier's shoulder "Don't worry, son. We'll get you outta there. Shepard, help me with this."

Holly watched the two work before checking her surroundings. Everything was different. No UNSC presence whatsoever. She met someone that looked exactly like her. She recalled Mindy telling her that Africa didn't look like it was glasses. The Home Fleet wasn't even there with the wreckage. Her musings were stopped when Shepard called her name.

"Holly! The Admiral and I are going in that dropship to radio in my ship. Dropship's probably crawling with Husks and Cannibals. We could use your help."

Holly nodded and joined the two. Wade can handle the ODSTs and SPARTANs. She'll link up with them as soon as she helped these people. She put her helmet on again and called Mindy.

"Mindy, you heard all that?"

"Yup. I ran all the scenarios. The best I can come up with is that we may be in a different dimension."

"...Mindy, honey. You're not shitting me, are you?"

"Nope."

Her brows furrowed in frustration "Let me guess. It was the off course Slipspace Jump, wasn't it?"

"Got it in one."

Hollywood sighed "Fucking great. Did you tell everyone?"

"Nope. Just you, dad and William. The Overwhelming's crew shouldn't be distracted in the middle of this battle. Earth is on the line. They can't have the thought of Interdimensional Travel looming over their heads."

Holly nodded in satisfaction before taking point "Good call, honey."

"Thanks, mom."

Hollywood dove behind cover and pulled out a Plasma Grenade before throwing it at a Cannibal's head. The blast killed the other Cannibals near it but two more Cannibals showed up and opened fire on the three. She turned her head to her companions and asked "You have anything other than pistols!?"

Jane shook her head before rolling out of cover and charging the two Cannibals. She shot one in the knee before cutting it's head off with her Omni Blade. Without missing a beat, she fired two shots at the other one's chest before unloading two on it's head. Before the body could drop, she wheel kicked the side of the Cannibal's head and watched it flip to the ground. Dead.

Holly gave an approving nod "Nice. Taking 'em out with style. I like that."

"Good work, you two." Anderson complimented. He then crouched down to the radio and tried to get a hold on Normandy "Alright, now let's see if we can hail the Normandy this time. Normandy, this is Anderson. Do you read?"

The radio came to life and a female voice responded "Admiral, What's your location?"

"By a downed gunship in the harbor. I'm activating its distress beacon. Send support. We've got wounded down here."

The radio let out static.

"Lieutenant?"

The radio beeped before shutting down.

"Dammit!" Anderson cursed "We lost the signal."

"Let's hope that beacon does its job." Shepard replied.

"Eyes up! We got company!" Yelled Holly. The trio looked up as the meteors fell from the sky. One crashed near them and Cannibals stormed from the rock, firing their weapons at them.

"Fucking great!" Holly cursed as she ducked behind cover "They got Orbital Insertion too. Bullshit! That was our schtick, ya fucking cocksuckers!" She rose from cover and let loose on the MA5C. Shepard returned fire with the M8 Avenger. Anderson moved his head to avoid getting shot and turned to Holly "Hollywood! Got any grenades with you?"

Holly went back to cover and tossed Anderson a Type-3 Incendiary Grenade "Firebomb, Anderson. Burn these motherfuckers!"

"Wait." Mindy's voice rang through her helmet's inside speakers "Where did you get the Covenant arsenal from?"

Holly switched from the MA5 to the BR55 took precise shots at the Cannibals' heads "Lipyap. He said there was a black market shit among the Grunts in the Covenant back in the War. They sell Human movies and what not. I told him I'll give him trade him movies for weaponry. I thought it was a fair deal."

Jane growled "There's too many of them. Where the hell is the Normandy!?"

"They'll be here soon." Anderson replied before killing a Cannibal and returning to cover "Let's just hope we're still alive when they get here."

"You and me both, sir." Holly said as she reloaded her Battle Rifle.

"Ma'am, SPARTAN Fireteam Eagle has secured an evac site for civilians. The Pelicans are touching down and deploying Marines and Hellbringers as we speak. We got Scorpions along with Warthogs setting up defense for evac. Longswords are doing their best to take out the squids. Some of them got lucky and eliminated one. Hang on... Be advised, friendlies are coming up from the enemy's six. It's dad!"

Holly peeked over her cover and saw Wade vault over some debris and kicked a Cannibal off the platform. Her ODSTs soon followed behind him. Gunny, Wes, Pac and Niko ran after the SPARTAN-IV while shooting down any Husk or Cannibal in their way. Wade walked over to the trio and Holly saw her two companions' expression of disbelief.

The blast shield of Wade's helmet slid up and his visor depolarized. Jane saw a gruff looking face with hints of a 5 o' clock shadow. Brown eyes and black hair.

"Commander Wade Daniels of the UNSC Power Overwhelming. How ya doing?"

He held out a hand towards Anderson and the Admiral shook it, still amazed at the armored man's height. If he had to guess, the man must have been at least 6'9 or more. Shepard was thinking along the same lines as she shook his hand next.

"Admiral David Anderson. Systems Alliance."

"Jane Shepard. Former N7 and Spectre."

"Looks like you guys needed a hand. Glad we made it just in time."

"Don't celebrate just yet, Wade." Holly said before aiming her gun at the oncoming Cannibals and Husks "Troopers, Open Fire!"

The Cannibals his behind covers while the Husks charged in without a second thought. Jane looked to the armored soldier and saw the blast shield slide down. The visor polarized a on illuminating red. She saw the blast shield had two slits that acts else eye holes and when the red visor polarized, gave her the image of a demon's glowing eyes.

The ODSTs hid behind whatever cover they could find. Gunny switched from his SRS99 to a M90 Shotgun. Wes heaved the Spartan Laser over his shoulder and opted to use the M7S. Pac and Niko aimed with their MA5Ds. Everyone opened fire as the wave of Husks charged in.

Soon the wave of Husks ended but the Cannibals still had their numbers. Seems like if they killed one, two more pop up. Gunny ran out of ammo for his M90 now he was on his last four shots in the SRS99. Wes ran dry and didn't wanna waste the Spartan Laser just yet. Pac was down to his M6S while Niko was saving the last of her grenades. Holly fired the last shot of her Battle Rifle at a Cannibal's head before running dry.

"I'm out!"

Beside her, Jane cursed as her M3 Predator finally ran out, along with her M8 Avenger. She turned to look at Holly and asked "Can you request any air support, anything!?"

"Negative. Overwhelming is too busy taking out squids on orbit. She's circling around the planet but this was the only place she could deploy our troops. The fly boys are taking care of the squids here. The Marines are evacuating the civilians now. Our armor are busy guarding evac zones. We're stuck here 'til your ship gets here."

"Son of a tied down-"

Shepard's curse was cut off when the Cannibals got decimated by missiles. A ship passed overhead and the UNSC personnel saw the writing on the side: NORMANDY.

"About time."

"Let's go!" Shepard yelled before running towards the Normandy. Everyone else followed after her. The Normandy lowered it's ramp and Shepard jumped the distance.

"Welcome back, Shepard." Ashley commented.

"Thanks."

Ashley saw the ODSTs and aimed her Avenger at them. Wade saw this and jumped to the ramp. He grabbed her rifle and gave it to Shepard before turning back to address Ashley.

"Cool it, hot tits. Is that anyway to treat friendlies, marine?"

Ashley looked to Jane for confirmation. Shepard nodded back before helping the ODSTs inside. She clasped Holly's shoulder and said "Get yourselves comfortable. We're gonna leave orbit soon."

Holly nodded "Just in time too. Overwhelming said the squids are retreating from here. Lot of places are still hit but this place is secured for now."

Shepard patted her back before seeing Anderson staying behind.

"Anderson, come on!"

An Alliance dropship flew by and Anderson turned back to reply "I'm not going! You saw those men back there. There's a million more like them, and they need a leader."

Wade decided to interrupt before she could reply "I'll ask Captain Clarke to put in word to any UNSC Personnel in the area that Admiral David Anderson will be gathering all Alliance personnel in the area. The Marines down here will do whatever they can to support you." Wade stopped and looked to the side before looking back at Anderson "The Captain gave the green light, Admiral. UNSC assets on Earth are at your disposal. Good luck, sir."

Wade gave a salute to the Admiral, which he returned. His gaze fell on Shepard as she continued to refuse to leave him behind.

"We're in this fight together!"

"It's a fight we can't win. Not without help. The UNSC helped but as of right now they only have one ship. That's not enough to stop the Reapers. We need every species and all their ships to even have a chance to beat the Reapers. Talk to the Council. Convince them to help us."

"What if they won't listen?"

"Then make them listen! Now go! That's an order."

"I don't take orders from you anymore, remember?"

Anderson reached in to his pocket and pulled out a set of dog tags. He threw the tags at Shepard who caught it.

"Consider yourself reinstated... Commander. You know what you have to do."

"I'll be back for you. And I'll bring every fleet I can."

Jane turned to walk inside but looked over her shoulder one last time "Good luck."

Anderson nodded "You too, Shepard."

The Normandy lifted off. Jane, Ashley, Holly and Wade watched as Alliance dropships and Pelicans made a hot extraction for the civilians.

Wade's comm buzzed to life and Mindy's frantic voice came out the speakers on UNSC open channel "Alert! Alert! A Reaper destroyer is approaching your location! Danger close! Onyx 0-1, 0-2, 0-5 get the hell outta there!"

"This is Onyx 0-1. Civilians secured! Pelicans and Alliance dropships are leaving."

"Reaper's charging up a shot!"

"Fuck! Spread out, spread out!"

"This is Mindy. Hold on, I just fired a MAC round. MAC Blast inbound! Danger close."

"Too late! Everybody hang o-"

The four watched in horror as the Reaper fired it's red beam and destroyed the fleeing transports. As it fired it's third beam, the Reaper destroyer was hit with 600-ton in 30 Km/sec. The Reaper was decimated but it was for naught as the Pelicans and Alliance dropships were destroyed.

"Mindy."

"Yes, Director?"

"Scan for survivors."

"I just did... No life signs detected. I'm sorry... I was too late."

The four were silent before heading inside the Normandy.

~Line Break~

"What's the status on Vancouver, Mindy?"

"Vancouver's fighting back. With our support, their chances are a little bit higher."

"And the rest of the world?"

"Not good. The Systems Alliance weren't prepared for a direct invasion on Earth. They were underpowered and undermanned. What about you sir? What does the Systems Alliance had to say about us?"

William sighed. He wasn't even pass his twenty's and he feels like he was getting too old for this shit. He stood from his chair and paced around the bridge. "We came to an agreement. Help us, help you. We help take back Earth and in return, they'll supply us with any material we need to build our arsenal. Archer missiles, MAC rounds, anything we need to rearm Overwhelming. Even repair her. Mindy, I want you to find suitable places in Vancouver for us to build Fortresses. We start production as soon as possible. If we are truly the only UNSC presence in this universe, we won't survive with just one ship." Everyone in the bridge stopped and watched their Captain "Earth needs the UNSC, even if we have to build it from scratch. Those Reapers are a threat to Humanity. And it is our duty as men and women of the UNSC to protect Humanity and all her colonies, whatever the cost!"

"Oorah!"

"Captain." Mindy called from the holotable "The Normandy has successfully docked. Wanna meet our new guests, sir?"

William nodded and straightened his suit to look more presentable. He looked over to his reflection and tried to make himself look decent. Mindy saw this and snorted good-naturedly.

"Come on, William. You look handsome as you are. No need to pretty yourself up anymore."

Checking himself one last time, he gave the AI a mock glare before heading down to the hangar to meet the infamous Commander Shepard he heard so much about from the Alliance.

"You know, Captain. It should be a crime for a man like you to walk around with an ass like that. Daaamn."

"Mindy!"

"Hahahaha!"

~Line Break~

"Numbers, numbers, numbers. Math, math, math." Mindy muttered as she kept the ship in shape

"Hm. Slipspace anomaly detected."

Her avatar popped out on the screen in the elevator William was taking.

"Captain, I've detected a Slipspace anomaly near Overwhelming." She closed her eyes for a second before opening them again "A Slipspace portal just opened and, you're not gonna believe this, a Phantom just exited it. Appears to be heavily damaged and barely keeping itself up."

"Give me a visual."

Her avatar was replaced by a live feed of the Phantom. It looked like one of the Banished but why a Phantom? A damaged one at that.

"Did you scan for any life forms?"

"Affirmative. I received three life signs. None of them are human. Wait! I just received a hail from the phantom. They want to dock and demand an audience with Director Daniels, sir."

William rose a quizzical eyebrow "What the hell does the Director have to do with this?" He shook his head "Whatever. Let them dock but alert all personnel in the hangar to ready themselves just in case."

"On it sir."

Her avatar blinked out and the elevator doors opened. William walked through the hangar and nodded at the Marines, Pilots, etc. He reached the frigate-sized ship that was the Normandy. His eyes widened when he saw Hollywood talking to her twin. He schooled his features before greeting the Normandy Crew.

"Greetings. I'm Captain William Clarke of the UNSC Orion-class Assault Carrier Power Overwhelming. Welcome aboard."

He held out his hand and Holly's twin walked forward and shook it "Commander Jane Shepard of the Systems Alliance. Pleasure to meet you, Captain Clarke."

William smiled "The pleasure is all mine."

Their hands let go and William clapped his hands together "I'm sorry to cut this short but it seems we have new guests arriving." His eyes turned to the docking Phantom.

The Phantom activated it's gravity lift and a large figure slowly descended. Wade was in front of the gathering and squinted his eyes to get a better look at the figure. He saw that the figure's shape was that of a Brute's but wait... Did Brutes had giant heads?

The figure was revealed to be a Jiralhanae in a bulky, red armor. Atop the Brute was none other than Lipyap, Holly's Covenant Weapon Smuggler and they bane of Wade's existence.

Lipyap spread his arms and yelled "Your Savior is here!"

Wade could've sworn he heard a cricket in the hangar just now.

"What. The. Fuck?"


	2. SSDD: Taking Back Earth

**Holy Shitake Mushrooms! I posted this story and fell asleep right away. I opened my phone the next day and I was surprised at the amount of notifications I got. Thank you for all the Fav and Follows!**

"Alright, Lipyap was it?"

At the Unggoy's nod, William then turned at the Jiralhanae. Said Brute was awkwardly sitting at the tiny chair. Why a tiny chair you ask? Well, Lipyap called dibs on the big chair.

"I don't believe we've been introduced yet. Captain William Clarke of the UNSC 'Power Overwhelming'."

The Brute stood to his full height and stared down at the Human Captain. William was unfazed but it took all his will not to pull out his pistol and fire it at the Brute's head.

"I am Traianus. I have served under Atriox long before he formed the Banished. Though he is a great leader but after learning the truth of the Great Journey and the Forerunners, I decided to redeem myself fro the crimes of the past. When Lipyap and his Sangheili friend, Lahr 'Mrok, found the Banished controlled Ark. I decided to help them escape and warn the humans of the Ark's fate."

William interrupted him "Wait, if I may interrupt." He turned to Lipyap "How did you get in the Ark in the first place?"

Lipyap spun his chair around twice before coming to a stop to address the Captain "The Arbiter sent us to find out what happened to the Ark after all form contact was lost. They sent one carrier. They couldn't send more because of Arbiter said something about a crazy blue lady, who used to be a friend of his friend, coming back to life and using Forerunner technology to fight us. I was sleeping halfway across his speech so that's all I can say."

"What happened to the carrier?"

Traianus decided to answer "They expected at least a support from the humans but the Banished struck hard and fast. Lahr and Lipyap were lucky enough to encounter me. I saw it as a way of redemption so I helped them escape with the Phantom. We hoped to link up with the Humans that just entered the Ark but a Slipspace portal appeared in front of us and sucked us in. You know the rest."

William contemplated this. So the Ark was lost to the Banished but a UNSC ship came near it and started to battle their forces. He looks at Traianus and asked "Why? Why seek redemption? Life as a Banished seemed better than life as their enemy."

"I have seen the way you humans fight and I share the Arbiter's opinion of your kind. My brethren always thought me odd when I once let a human family go. I am old, Captain. I've seen enough of war to be sick of it. I know that three decades of genocidal war cannot be forgotten so easily but I will help those who need help. Whether they want it or not, I will help them. I have heard of the Mantle of Responsibility and I vowed to follow this ideal as a way to repent for my sins."

William hummed "You know, if the old Covenant heard you say that, they would've called you an infidel."

Traianus chuckled "Indeed."

"But seeing how passionate you are with this redemption of yours, I'm gonna give you a chance. Welcome to 'Power Overwhelming' Traianus."

He held out his hand and the Brute gently covered it with his own as the two shook hands.

"Thank you, Captain."

"You're welcome."

Lipyap stopped spinning his chair and called William "Uhm, Captain Human, sir. Do you guys have any methane to refill my tank? By the way, where's big demon and his red hair mate? I have new shipment of Covenant Grenades for them."

William's brows raised at this "Wait... Your smuggling Covenant Weaponry to one of MY ODSTs!?"

"Yup. Red hair lady said she trade me human movies for weapons. I say that's a great deal!"

William sighed and rubbed his forehead while Traianus gently patted his back.

~Line Break~

"Long time no see, Larry."

Lahr growled as he stared down at the demon. Wade just smiled before looking back at his cards. It was an odd sight to see a SPARTAN, an ODST, an Alliance Marine and an Elite playing a game of Uno.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that, Spartan!"

James Vega just looked at the two back and fort before placing down a card on the deck. Corporal Brenda 'Niko' Nikolayev didn't know how she got roped into this. All she remembered was the Director puller her and Vega by the arm before ordering them to plan a game of Uno. She shook her head before pulling a card from the deck and got a 4. She place it down and switched the color to blue.

"Dammit! I was so close to Uno, too."

Lahr laughed at the Spartan's displeasure before placing a 2 "UNO!" He exclaimed.

James calmly took two cards and Niko placed an 8. Wade smiled before placing his own 4. Lahr saw this and roared.

"You little human scumbag!" He flipped the crate they were playing on and charged at Wade. Wade smirked and met the charge head on. The two were on the ground punching but not really hurting each other.

James and Niko looked at the two before leaving. They did not want to get caught in that. They passed by Wes, who nodded at them before heading for their respective groups. Wes saw the two fighting and shook his head.

"Scheißkerle." He muttered before leaving.

Holly came next, she discarded her BDUs for an ODST PT gear. Sweat dripped from her hair and body as she drank from her canteen.

"You idiots done yet?"

Wade and Lahr stopped to look at her before rising from the ground. Wade eyed her up and down, his gaze lingering on the formfitting shirt as it clung to her chest. Seeing that his friend was currently occupied, Lahr asked "Is there something you need, Holly?"

Hoy nodded "Have you been briefed on our situation?"

The Elite simply nodded before leaving, saying something about looking for his wayward Grunt and Brute ally.

Holly looked at Wade and saw he wasn't staring at her tits anymore. His eyes were focused on the pendant around her neck. Looped to the pendant was a gold ring and an AI chip.

"You still wear it?"

Holly didn't need to look down to know what he was talking about "Of course I do. I said yes, didn't I?"

Wade smiled "Yeah, you did."

The two walked away from the hangar and made their way to Wade's quarters. Unbeknownst to them, Shepard saw the whole exchange. Jane noted their similarities and differences. One difference was the fact that Holly looked a bit older but not by much. Her voice was different too. But that was it, everything else is the same or close to it. She wondered how long before they can leave this ship and head for the Citadel. Captain Clarke said he wanted the Normandy crew to get comfortable and get some rest before sending them to the Relay. 'Power Overwhelming' couldn't leave Earth just yet. Reapers were still running around in some parts of the world and the Captain was adamant on destroying the 'Squids' and wiping their presence off of Earth. She looked at her Omni Tool as she read a brief history of the UNSC. It was still odd to learn that there was another dimension out there. Fighting their own war. It was easy for her to accept their use of AI thanks to EDI. She watched as Pelicans left the hangar, carrying Firebases to near the places where the Reapers hit the most.

"Welcome back to Overwhelming Radio. DJ Mindy here, coming to you with this next song: Voodoo Child, Cover by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble."

'Not that I'm complaining but what's with the songs? I swear I heard music coming from those HEVs when they dropped.' She shook her thoughts away before finding her crew and friends to talk catch up with.

~Line Break~

"...Voodoo Child, Cover by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble."

A Pelican dropped a Firebase near Vancouver. When the base finished construction, two Warthogs rolled out it's entrance and made it's way in to the city. The Pelicans carrying Marines flew overhead while the Warthogs followed. Vancouver was still under attack by Husks and whatnot but the Squids were gone. Admiral Anderson was leading Alliance Marines around the city to clean up any remaining Reapers or rescuing civilians. Anderson saw the UNSC group enter the city. The Pelicans flew overhead and painted targets for the ground vehicles. The Hogs ran over any Husks on the road or filled 'em up with 12.7x99mm AP rounds.

Anderson's Omni Tool beeped and he answered "Anderson here."

"Admiral Anderson, this is Captain Cruz. Me and my Marines are sweeping up the city. Any additional orders, sir?"

"I got marines trapped in the Art Gallery with a lot of civilians. My boys can't get to them with all this debris blocking them. My dropships are too busy evacuating other civilian evac centers. Think you can give them a hand, Captain?"

"Will do, sir. Cruz, out."

Anderson turned around to address his troops "Alright, marines. The UNSC are helping us clean this city from those Reaper filth. I'm only gonna say this once. When the Reapers attacked Earth, we were unprepared. Undermanned. They got the jump on us and they hit us pretty hard. If it weren't for Captain Clarke and his ship, Vancouver would still be under siege. But that's the thing, they're only one ship. They can't fight the Reapers alone. We may have been unprepared unprepared but we learned our lesson. Look around you. All this death, destruction. Together with the UNSC we can rebuild. We can push these Reapers off Earth. And if Shepard can get the Council's support, we have a chance to beat these motherfuckers once and for all! Oorah!?"

"OORAH!"

Anderson hummed in satisfaction as the Alliance Marines had their morale grow higher than before. He left and spoke to some engineers about repairing Firebase Vancouver.

~Line Break~

"Cap, I got visual on the Art Gallery."

Captain Jeremy Cruz walked up to the Pelican's cockpit and saw the fortified Art Gallery. Two turrets were set up on the front and back of the building. He saw a sea of Husks storming their way to the Art Gallery. Their bodies piling up as the Alliance Marines killed them.

"Hover us near the roof. We'll give those boys support and round up the civilians. Once you get those civies to safety, come back for us. Alright, Reid?"

"Understood, sir."

Cruz went back to his Marines and walked up to the ramp. He turned to face them and cocked his MA5C "Alright, Chicks and Dicks of the Marine Corps. This ain't a drill and we ain't on Kansas anymore. Remember my rules. Rule number one: If it moves, kill it. If it's not moving, kill it again. Rule two: Each of you have more firepower than an army platoon. So use it, all of it. And finally: You don't die unless I give you a direct order. Oorah?"

"Oorah!"

Cruz nodded "Good. On me."

He jumped off the Pelican and landed on the roof of the building. He was followed by Corporal Christopher Winter, Private Peter O'Neal and Private Bella Clarison. An Alliance marine met them by the door.

"Thank God, you're here. We got at least seventy civies here. We need help evacuating them."

"Acknowledged." Cruz replied before calling the rest of his Marines "Rhino 2-1, Rhino 2-3, this Rhino Actual. We got seventy civies in need of evac. Get your boots on the ground and help us covering these civilians. Move your ass, Keyes."

"Solid copy, Rhino Actual. Rhino 2-1, out. How the hell do I get out of this chicken shit outfit?"

"I heard that Marine."

Cruz turned to the his Marines "Winter, round up the civilians." Winter nodded and followed the Alliance marine inside "O'Neal and Bella, I want suppressive fire on those Husks." He called Reid "Reid, lower yourself to the roof. Civilians will be here soon."

"Copy that. Descending now."

Cruz looked up as the Pelican slowly descended on the roof. He looked to the side to see Rhino 2-1 and 2-3's Pelican closing in. Cruz waved them over and the Pelicans descended, deploying Keyes and Hicks. The two saluted the Captain before joining the Alliance in firing at the swarm of Husks.

"Captain, this is Winter! The Husks got in! I repeat. The Husks got in! Civilians are heading topside now. Me and the Alliance boys will hold 'em off."

"Affirmative. But you better get your ass up here, Corporal. We don't leave Marines behind. Oorah to Ashes."

"...Oorah to Ashes."

"Reid."

"I know, sir." The pilot replied.

"Good. I need my best pilot thinking straight. One mishap and we're all dead."

"Yes sir."

Cruz opened the door as the civilians flooded out "Alright, alright! Single file! To the Pelicans! Children and Elderly first then the rest, move!" His comm buzzed to life "This is Rhino Actual, what's your status Winter?"

His response was the Corporal's panting "This is Winter... We're... Hightailing it... We were losing men down there... Heading topside now."

Cruz's eyes widened and he turned to the Marines "Marines, weapons hot! Winter's coming through the door with a shit ton of Husks behind him. Give him cover Marines."

"Oorah!"

Winter burst through the door and dove behind an empty weapons crate. He turned to O'Neal and said "O'Neal! I need a weapon!"

O'Neal looked around him before grabbing an M90 and throwing it at Winter "Heads up!"

Winter caught the shotgun and examined it before aiming at the door. The Marines waited in baited breath for the Husks. The Pelicans secured the civilians and left the building. A moment of silence passed before they heard the roars echo through the door. No sooner than that, the Husks came pouring out. The bodies were slowly piling up but the Husks were relentless. They kept charging and charging, not a care as bullets riddled their bodies.

"Captain, this is Reid. Almost their. ETA 30 seconds!"

"You heard the lady, extraction is in 30 seconds! Hold them off!" Cruz yelled before emptying his clip on five Husks. He radioed in Overwhelming "Captain Clarke, requesting MAC Blast on the Gallery once we're clear."

"Negative, Cruz. MACs are under maintenance. We could send Archer missiles instead."

"Solid copy, sir. Cruz, out."

Soon enough, the Pelicans returned. The Marines, Alliance and UNSC, entered the transports and fired at the Husks. Keyes tried to jump but was tackled by a Husk. He was soon swarmed but he cooked a grenade in his hand. Winter didn't see the grenade and tried to rescue Keyes. Before he could reach him, the grenade exploded and blasted Winter to the edge of the roof.

"Winter!" Reid cried through the comms. She turned to her copilot and said "Spunkmeyer, take it from here."

She stood up and grabbed a M7 Caseless and squeezed through the civilians through the ramp. She saw Winter get up and looked up at her.

"Come on! Jump for it!" She yelled while firing at the Husks.

Winter looked back and made a running start before jumping for the ramp. He managed to barely grab on the edge and was pulled up by O'Neal and Cruz. Dusting himself off, he was suddenly tackled by Reid. He kept them steady as she buried her face on his shoulder.

"Don't ever do something like that again, you hear me!?"

A moment later, the Art Gallery was bombarded by a wave of Archer missiles. Turning the building into a flame wreck.

Winter smirked at the sight before returning the hug "Don't worry. I had enough of zombies chasing my ass for the day."

Cruz nodded at that and radioed in Anderson "Admiral, this is Cruz. Mission complete. What's the status on the rest of the city?"

"All clear. The Art Gallery was the last of the Husk swarm in the city. Vancouver is ours again."

Cruz sighed in relief "That's good."

~Line Break~

"Mindy, has Shepard left for the relay?" William asked as he nursed a cup of coffee in his hand.

"Yes sir. She just left."

"Alright. What other parts of Earth did the Squids hit?"

Mindy looked at her datapad and listed out the places "Rio de Janeiro and London, sir."

"Have Firebases built there and send in Hawks and Longsword to make bombing runs and harass those Squids. Send in Hornets to do Hit-and-Run on them. See if a Vulture or two can take down those Reapers. Keep the Archer missiles ready just in case. I want Wolverines down their too."

"Acknowledged, sir."

Mindy's avatar blinked out, leaving William to stare at the hologram of Earth. The planet will be back on Humanity's hands soon enough.


	3. SSDD: Political BS

**A/N: My God! So many follows and faves! (To me at least) So a little bit of Author's Note here.**

 **OCs: Feel free to suggest 'cause I can't think of anymore OCs and add a backstory to them. PM or Review, I read both.**

 **And that concludes my Author's Note. On with the shitty story!**

 **P.S: I have no idea what I just** **wrote.**

 **P.P.S: I use my phone in writing this shit and I HATE AUTOCORRECT!**

"They want me to what!?"

Mindy kept her face impassive as she repeated the Council's demands "According to Commander Shepard, they want you to stand trial for crimes in breaking Citadel Laws. Specifically, the possession and use of an unshackled AI. Pricks." She muttered the last part as annoyance seeped into her features.

William sighed and leaned back in his chair. He rubbed his temple as he felt a headache coming in "According to Shepard, the galaxy is on the verge of a Reaper invasion and their too busy demanding my head for even having you aboard my ship? What did the Human Councilor, Donny whatever the fuck his name is, had to say about this?"

"Right now, he's torn. Generally, the Geth are AI that the Reapers used as an army next to the Husks. The Council have a general mistrust at anything at anything related to AI. The VIs are like 'Dumb' AIs, no risk of being rampant. Councillor Udina is torn between defending us because we're helping Earth while the Council refuse to even bat an eyelash or siding with the Council because of our use of, cue air quotes, 'Illegal' AI and the fact that we won't assimilate and hand over our tech to the Systems Alliance."

William slammed his forehead on the desk, making the AI jump at how hard his head hit the table "I fucking hate politics. I joined the Navy to avoid politics, not be in the middle of it." He got off his chair and looked at the poster of Captain James Cutter that he made himself "What would Captain Cutter do?"

Mindy would've sweatdropped if she could at seeing William look at the poster as if it would give him the answer. She found it odd and at the same time cute as William turned into a fanboy every time the Spirit of Fire and it's Captain is mentioned. Though she herself couldn't judge him when she fangirls over the Chief and Cortana. She still couldn't help but squeal in delight when she met the two in the 'Infinity'.

William sighed before finding a suitable uniform and heading for the bathroom to change. Mindy smirked before she recorded the Captain getting changed. She was an AI sure but she was a 'Smart' AI. She was made from the brain of Wade and Holly's deceased daughter, Wilhelmina. So her personality stuck. One trait she stuck with was blackmailing people with embarrassing pictures and videos. Although, she can't help but appreciate what she was seeing. She may have been 15 when she died but was a 'Smart' AI, she didn't get to where she was if her IQ was just average.

A little later, William came out in a his white dress uniform. Complete with the cap and gloves.

"You look nice." The AI complemented.

William smiled and said "Thanks."

A devious smile worked it's way into her features "You've been holding out on me, Captain. I didn't know you were packing a Mega MAC in those pants."

"Mindy!" His face red as a tomato.

Mindy shook her head dramatically "Oh, your poor wife."

He wasn't married but Mindy can't help but jab on his relationship status as well. His records in the Academy were beyond expectations, his work on the field even more so. She idly wondered why the Captain hadn't slept with someone on the ship yet. She remembered his colleagues saying that almost every girl in the Academy wanted to jump him ever since they saw him in wet PT gear. He refused every single one of them that everyone thought he played for the other team. Some people still do but Mindy knows he doesn't swing that way. Not after seeing his porn stash under the bed in a safe. Who knew the Captain liked prone boning.

"Captain." William stopped blushing when he heard the seriousness in her voice "I would like to join you on the Citadel and meeting this Council."

William shook his head no "Negative, Mindy. You are to stay in this ship and loom after it at all costs."

"But Willia-"

"No buts!" He sighed before walking closer to her avatar "It's not that I want you to, hell your presence is welcome, but I won't risk the Council jumping the gun and taking you away before I could even open my mouth. I don't know what I'd do if I lose you. I also trust that you would look after this ship and her crew as I would. I trust you with their lives, as I always have."

Mindy sat down and looked up at William, a side smile on her face "Thank you, William."

William smiled back before leaving his room "Keep an eye on the ship for me."

"Will do, sir."

She watched him go before sighing. She looked at William's photo beside her and tried to touch it only for her ha d to pass through. She looked at her hand and closed her eyes.

"If only."

~Line Break~

"Captain Clarke."

William stopped and turned to Traianus as he called his name. The Jiralhanae walked over to him and said "I request to join you in your travel to this Citadel."

"If I may ask, why?"

"I heard that you were to be trialed for crimes you did not even have knowledge of. I hoped that I could join you to defend you from these unjust accusations."

William thought about it before accepting. Traianus seemed like a calm guy compared to the other Brutes they have encountered "Very well then. Follow me Traianus."

"Thank you, Captain."

The two entered the armory for William to pick up a weapon just in case. Traianus heaved a Gravity Hammer over his shoulder before following William to the hangar. The two entered and saw the Normandy undergoing maintenance by her crew. He saw Shepard overlooking the maintenance and made his way to her.

"Commander Shepard."

Jane turned around and saluted the Captain.

"At ease."

"What can I do for you, sir?"

It felt odd seeing someone so young acquire the title of Captain. Jane was sure she as older than him. She cleared those thoughts away as William began to speak.

"I'll meet up with this Council to discuss my 'trial'. Traianus would come along as an escort, if you don't mind that is."

Jane looked at the Brute who kept an impassive face. She eyed the Gravity Hammer and wasn't sure what to do. She nodded to the Captain who smiled in return.

"Thank you, Commander. Would it be alright with you to give us a tour in your ship?"

Jane smiled and walked to the Normandy's ramp "Right this way, gentlemen."

The two followed after the Commander and entered the beauty that is the Normandy.

~Line Break~

"And this is the CIC."

The Captain and the Brute stared at the the deck that held the bridge. William walked over the Galaxy Map and memorized everything it had to show. Some of these places could be useful if they get back on their universe.

Jane walked over to him with a dark skinned woman beside her "This is Samantha Traynor. Normandy's Comm Specialist."

Samantha held out her hand and the two shook.

"Pleasure to meet you, Miss Traynor." William greeted with a smile. Samantha smiled back and said "Pleasure's all mine, sir."

Jane then nodded towards Traianus. The Brute towered over them all but managed to gently shake hands with the Comm Specialist. She then led them to the bridge where they were greeted by Joker and EDI's new body. William listened to how EDI gained the body and their rescue op in Mars. Traianus returned to observe the Galaxy Map. He idly wondered what was happening in the Ark now. Have the Humans discovered it's fate or does has Atriox finally unlocked the secrets of the Ark? So many thoughts came to his head bug was cut short when William patted his arm. He turned to the Captain and saw him motion his head towards the Elevator.

"We gotta go. Tour's not done yet. You've zoned out long enough for Shepard to finish the CIC tour. What's on your mind?"

Traianus shook his head and waved off the question "Nothing to be concerned about. Just the thoughts of an old warrior running around."

William accepted answer and the two followed Shepard to the Elevator. He silently cursed at how ridiculously slow it was.

"Commander, we are entering the Relay."

"Copy that, Joker." She turned to the two and said "You ready for this, sir?"

William took a deep breath before releasing it "Ready as I'll ever be, Commander."

~Line Break~

Arriving in the Citadel, Jane expected their reactions to be that of awe. What she got, however, was a slightly raised brow and huff. William looked at it with slight interest. He was shown a video of the Ark, Halo and Requiem. All he can say to the Citadel was that it seemed so small compared to those three.

After a hectic, and slightly harassing, security check-up. Shepard, William and Traianus made a beeline to the Council. Of course they were stopped by journalists who are hungry for a scoop or intent twisting the story in their own way. William's response was a simple 'No comment' while Traianus bared his teeth and shoved the camera away.

"How annoying." He growled out.

William and Shepard snorted at this before reaching the Council Chambers. William sighed and straightened his uniform.

"Here goes nothing."

Entering the Council Chamber, he was met with the sight of trees and fountains. It was a bit dark really. Not enough light for him, though. He walked to the center and looked up at the balcony. There stood a Turian, Asari and Salarian.

'Must be the big wigs.'

"Captain William Clarke of the UNSC Power Overwhelming. Do you know why you are here?" The Turian Councillor began.

William looked up with an expression of indifference "Yes. Apparently, I am charged with possession of an illegal AI. An AI that had saved countless of UNSC lives. An AI I trust with lives under my command. This AI was the one who pulled the trigger on those Squids, advised my Marines on groundside to keep them on alert and kept those Reapers from getting any more of their filthy tentacles on Earth. That AI has done more in saving organics than you ever could. You turned a blind eye on these Reapers and look who paid the price. You willingly turned your back on the very person who saved this Galaxy from something you thought a myth. I also heard about the First Contact War. Don't interrupt me, Turian!" William yelled as he saw the Turian Councillor about to interrupt him.

He stared straight into their each of their eyes "Even in another dimension, Humanity still suffered from First Contact. Suffered by the hands of aliens who think they were doing what was right. Like my dimension, you aliens never start negotiations. No. You asshats fire first, ask questions never. Your war was stopped by the Council. Ours continued on for three decades! Tell me, Councillor, what was your reason for shooting first?"

Councillor Sparatus glared as he replied "The Humans have broken the Citadel Law. The Law states that inactive Relays are not to be meddled with to avoid another incident like the Rachni Wars. You humans foolishly activated the Relay and the Turians acted as the Law dictates them to."

William kept his gaze on Sparatus "Harvest. Beautiful world. Filled with human colonists living their everyday life. Then we lost contact. We sent a group to investigate, only one barely managed to return. They showed us what happened to Harvest. Wanna see?"

Not waiting for an answer. He pulled out a holochip and activated. The image showed a beautiful garden world.

"This was Harvest before we lost contact." The image changed to something far from the beautiful one they saw. The surface was reduced to a layer of molten glass, the destruction Ws visible even from orbit. The environment suffered a catastrophic blow as a result, the once glorious landscape turning into a nearly frozen tundra.

"This is the result of our First Contact."

The Councillors and Shepard were shocked at what they were shown. The Councillors thought of what could've caused such destruction. Shepard thought of the human lives lost in the planet. Traianus closed his eyes. He couldn't bear looking at the planet that he himself took part in it's destruction.

"More than three hundred thousand civilians, gone. You know what monsters' reason for doing this? What they declared their reason for our destruction?"

Traianus was the one who spoke next in a haunted tone "Your destruction is the Will of the Gods and we are their instruments."

Jane looked at Traianus in shock. It didn't take her long to connect the dots.

"The Covenant. A religious hegemony that demanded the extinction of the Human Race. All because of the lies the Prophets had led us to believe. My own hands are stained with the blood of the innocent. In the span of thirty years, the Covenant brought the near extinction of Man. Our mission to achieve godhood, nothing but a lie. We nearly destroyed a species because of a lie!" Traianus roared out.

"We blindly followed the Prophets because we thought we were doing the right thing. Because our mission demands it. We never answered their questions with words, we answered them with the blood of their people! We saw them as nothing more than abominations! Our war taught me that nothing is ever done for the right reasons. The truth is always twisted to appease one's selfishness. I have spent years regretting what I have done and no amount of time will ever forgive or forget my actions against the Humans."

William was silent as he listened to Traianus' monologue. He coughed to get back the Council's attention.

"Through those thirty years of war. AIs have been one of our greatest allies and I will not turn my back on them now! Arrest me or kill me if you want but you will never lay a hand on my- our AI! Everyone in Overwhelming would give their lives for her. Take her by force and I swear to you, the UNSC will not give her up without a fight. We didn't give up against genocidal aliens, we certainly won't give up against you asshats!"

The Chamber was silent. Traianus smiled as he saw the intensity and determination burn in William's eyes. Their ferocity is what made him respect the Human Race as warriors. His Gravity Hammer was left outside. With his , he could rush outside and grab it should things get messy. William kept his gaze on the Councillors, never wavering. Shepard was torn, she needs both the UNSC and Council support to fight back the Reapers. She has to stop this before things get worse. She didn't expect William to blow a gasket, especially in a time like this. Looks like Mindy is more valuable to him than she thought. She walked to the center to intervene.

"Alright, guys. That's enough. William, Traianus. Stand down." She ordered as she saw Traianus clench his fist and ready to charge at the Councillors. She looked at William and knew he was ready to fight and die for Mindy. She looked over at the Councillors to see their face settled in apprehensive confusion. No one had the quad to actually talk to them like that in front of them. They were shocked at how adamant Captain Clarke was at defending an AI. If this was how he defends a piece of tech, how will he act when Humanity's on the line?

The Councillors agreed to have a meeting before they judge what to do with Captain Clarke.

~Line Break~

"So, how's it going?"

William sighed as he talked to Mindy on the holopad.

"I don't know. I lost my cool. Councillors are doing a meeting on what to do with me. At least Traianus isn't killing anyone." He looked to the side as Traianus sat on a bench by a fountain. It was funny to him to see a Brute sit on a small bench, towering over anyone who walked by despite sitting down. A little human girl approached him with a food container in her hands. The girl waved at the Brute who awkwardly waved back. The kid sat beside the Brute a d opened her food container. She stood on the bench and raised the container near Traianus' nose. The Brute sniffed once before his eyes widened and he reeled back.

"Oh, what is that? Blergh!"

Traianus shook his head and blew his nose to ward off the smell. William smiled at the little interaction and loomed back at Mindy.

"I hate politics. I just revealed to the Citadel Council the Covenant, Harvest and our First Contact. If it were anyone else, they would've revealed nothing like those. God, of all the times to blow a gasket... "

Mindy smiled "Jane told me that part. I didn't realize how adamant you were on protecting me. I'm touched. You are the best Captain, sir!"

Her avatar changed to a one where she was dressed like a Naval Servicewoman. She gave him an exaggerated salute that elicited a laugh from the Captain.

"Lieutenant Mindy, reporting for duty. Sir!"

That got him in a laughing fit. This was why everybody in Overwhelming love Mindy. She'll always turn your frown upside down. One way or another. She gives time to each member of the crew that she knew their names without even looking for it in her data banks. His laughter subsided as his face turned serious once more.

"How's London and Rio doing?"

Mindy changed back to her normal appearance and gave him a full report "We encountered heavy Reaper presence in London. We don't know why but there seemed to be more Reapers there than Rio and Vancouver. All of our Firebases have been upped into Fortresses. We got a lot of expansions ahead of us. Luckily, some Alliance bases were assimilated to the Fortresses and we got more recruits coming in."

William nodded in satisfaction "Good, good. What about on our Tech field?"

"We started production on our basic ground vehicles. Hogs, Scorpions, etc. We just equipped the Cyclops with AT weaponry. Though they can't do jack shit against Aircrafts. We fitted some Hogs with the M68 ALIM. There are still those that use the good 'ole Vulcan. We got people working on making the Grizzlies. We don't have enough resources for the rest though."

"Thank you, Mindy. See ya."

He cut off the connection before wondering what's the situation on London and Rio.

~Line Break~

London

"Hawkins, squid by Big Ben. Let's light 'em up!"

Hawkins turned her Hawk, pun intended, right and fired the nose-mounted Spartan Laser. The two Hawks were fast enough to avoid the Reaper's red beam but the two of them were not enough to take it down.

"Mindy, this is Bates. Requesting Archer missiles on a squid by Big Ben."

"Solid copy, Bates. Bombs away!"

Hawkins watched as the barrage of Archer missiles hit the Reaper head on. Too bad Big Ben was hit too. She would've liked to see that when the squids are off Earth.

"Kill confirmed. Still got a lot to go, guys."

"Thanks for the support, Mindy."

Hawkins and Bates flew around London. Painting targets for Mindy and providing air support for Marines ground side. Hawkins looked to her left and saw a building being swarmed by Husks, climbing their way to the Marines on the roof. Two Hellbringers looked over the edge and set the climbing Husks aflame. The door to the roof burst open but a third Hellbringer burned any Husk that got through. A Marine squad provided support fire for the Hellbringers. A Pelican came by to pick them up just in time for a Longsword to bombard the building.

She sighed. London was fucking mess.

~Line Break~

Rio de Janeiro

Marines garrisoned themselves by the Cristo Redentor. MG emplacements were set up. Warthogs that had the M68 ALIMs stood in the back, taking out Husks group by group. Cobras were set down with the Gauss Hogs, providing support for the Marines. The UNSC and Alliance were making a last stand by the monument. Communications were cut off, reinforcements were still too far away. Their only hope was to hold the line 'til reinforcements arrive.

Sergeant Major John Grimm was the current highest ranking in this group. Right now, things were even but they'll be in serious shit if a squid came knocking by. He cursed when the group was bathed in red light. He looked up to the see the squid gaze on them. He stared defiantly at the Reaper before giving it the 'Bird'. He closed his eyes as he waited for the beam to decimate them. A loud crash was heard as the Reaper took a direct hit from an Archer missile. Soon more followed 'til the Reaper couldn't sustain itself and crash on the horde of Husks. Pelicans flew overhead and picked up the ground vehicles. Others picked up the remaining Marines, Helljumpers and Hellbringers.

Grimm looked outside the ramp and saw the burning Favela. After all these years, it was still there. He could see parts of Rio burn. Longsword bombardments, a convoy of Warthogs, Pelicans evacuating civilians. It felt like it was the Great War again. Sure he was there only on it's final years but he was still there to witness it's horror.

They'll be lucky if there's anything left of Rio to rebuild.

~Line Break~

"Captain Clarke." The Asari Councillor, Tevos, began "We have come to a decision."

Shepard, William and Traianus waited in baited breath for the answer.

"The charges you've received have been... revoked."

"Captain Clarke." The Salarian Councillor, Valern, continued "In light of recent events and some..." The Councillors looked at Shepard "Persuasion." He looked back to William "We permit you and the UNSC the use of AI."

"We also offer you the chance to join the Citadel." Sparatus added "I believe it would be a beneficial for both the Citadel and UNSC to share each other-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there, Councillor." William interrupted "I'm afraid I have to decline on that offer. The UNSC won't stick by the rules that would leave us virtually powerless. I've read the Treaty of Farixen. We had a similar treaty but that didn't do shit. I'm gonna be straight with you. I don't like you. Simple as that. I don't like the way you run things in this galaxy. But not enough to declare hostilities. What I'm gonna offer is simple. A Non-Aggression Pact. The Systems Alliance had agreed to make a Defensive Alliance with the UNSC. That Alliance was made because we refuse to see the Home World of Humanity burn. The UNSC didn't submit to a collective alien races once, I sure as hell won't submit on this one. The System Alliance can still roam the galaxy but the UNSC will be too busy rebuilding Earth and can only defend her colonies. The UNSC has one duty to uphold. Defend Humanity and all her colonies, whatever the cost."

After saying that, the Council grew weary at him. Those words hit close to Cerberus' own. Seeing an opportunity, Sparatus spoke up.

"Have you heard of the terrorist organization called Cerberus, Captain?"

William scoffed "Heard all I need to know from Shepard. The things they've done remind me too much of a certain disliked but necessary branch in the Navy. Since I can't touch ONI, might as well let Cerberus take their place."

"How about this, Captain. I'm not offering this as a member of the Council. I'm offering as a member of the Turian Hierarchy." Sparatus stepped down from the balcony and stood in front of William.

"Sparatus." Tevos warned.

"Cerberus is a common enemy among the Council. Recently, we lost contact with Primarch Fedorian. If you can help us with this situation, I would put in good word to the Hierarchy that we will support you in the fight against Reapers. I'll even see to it that the UNSC will have Military Access to Turian Space if things end well."

"Sparatus!" Tevos yelled "What do you think you are doing!?"

Sparatus calmly stared at Tevos "We can't ignore this Reaper threat any longer. I know I have refused to believe it for too long. Now... Snow is the time to change that." He turned back to William and asked "Do we have a deal?"

William thought this over. If things go smoothly, they get another ally to help them fight against the Reapers. Plus, Sparatus said that the UNSC would gain Military Access to their space. He may even be able to build a Fortress within their colony worlds. This was an offer he can't refuse. The galaxy must be united to destroy this Reaper threat.

He looked Sparatus in the eye and held out his hand "You got a deal, Councillor."

Sparatus' mandibles twitched as he smiled and shook the Captain's hand "Thank you, Captain Clarke."

"Is that all, Councillors?"

Before the other two could reply, Sparatus nodded and William's group left. He didn't even bother to listen as Tevos yelled at Sparatus. Once they've reached the Normandy, William called Shepard.

"Shepard. I can't spare enough men to go with you to Palaven but I can give you Traianus, should he accept." He turned to the Brute who nodded. Traianus looked to Shepard and said "It will be an honor to fight alongside a warrior of legend such as yourself."

Jane smiled "It'll be an honor as well, Traianus." She then turned to William and asked "So who's the other one you're gonna give me?"

William shrugged "Haven't decided yet. Kinda hard to pick but you've alongside both of them. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I need to make a call."

Jane watched him go before heading to the CIC. They'll make a stop at Overwhelming to pick up their second guest before heading to Palaven. Jane shook her head. She forgot to feed the fish again, didn't she?


	4. SSDD: Recruits and Stowaways

Author's Note: This is just an interlude before Priority: Palaven and something I want to point out below.

Wade's MJOLNIR armor. It's basically a HELLJUMPER-class Mjolnir. Color is ODST black and the helmet is the ODST's from Halo 2:Anniversary but with a red tinted visor and a blast shield that fits the visor and slides up and down like the Marines from StarCraft 2.

Traianus' armor is a lot like Atriox's. A mix of armor parts taken from UNSC armors.

Lahr 'Mrok has the 343i Zealot armor but the Bungie Sangheili design. You know, the one that doesn't look weird. (in my opinion.)

Lipyap looks like Dimkee Hotay. He and Lahr act like Dimkee and the other Elite. Lipyap's talking while Lahr usually responds with an 'Uh huh' or a punt kick.

That's all and now back to the story!

 ** _~7777777~_**

"And that's it. Any more questions?"

Holly shook her head before being dismissed by William. She was going to be drafted to the Normandy crew for the time being. William decided that he would like to send some of Overwhelming's Personnel to the Normandy to act as a support. The personnel would vary from mission to mission and right now, Holly was the first.

The ODST walked to the armory and thought of her loadout. She looked up the weapons she wanted and decided to take MA5C along with the M6C/SOCOM as the sidearm. She spotted something on the far wall and walked over to it. Hanging on the wall was the M6 Grindell/Galilean Nonlinear Rifle or 'Spartan Laser'. Not a lotta people get to wield these things. Mostly ODSTs and Spartans.

'Come to mama, sweet prince.'

With a smile on her face, she heaved the Spartan Laser and made her way to the Hangar. Most of the UNSC personnel paid her no mind or got out of her way as she headed for the Normandy.

~Line Break~

Jane was looking at some of the supplies the Captain was generous enough to give her. Mostly weapons and ammo, food, etc. What caught her attention however was the large crate labeled: HANDS OFF UNLESS YOU'RE A SPARTAN OR A HELLJUMPER! ONLY ACCESSIBLE TO THEM AND/OR SHEPARD!

She shook her head and decided to open one of the weapons crate. What she found inside looked like a double barrel rocket launcher. It had the word 'SPNKr' on the back while the side had 'Got more spunk than you' written on it. She moved to the next ones and saw these crated had the name of the weapon inside like: MA5D, BR85N, M6C, M6H, M7 Caseless SMG, M20 PDW, M395B DMR, M739 LMG, M90-CAWS, M45D Tactical Shotgun and many more. She realized a lot of these had AP rounds. If Traianus was anything to go by, the UNSC fought aliens as big as Krogan. Maybe even bigger.

When Holly entered Normandy's shuttle bay, Jane saw the large weapon in her hands. The Helljumper had a smile that could've split her face in two. Holly dropped the weapon by the large crate and rolled her shoulders. She turned to Shepard and motioned for the gun.

"See this? This is the M6 Grindell/ Galilean Nonlinear Rifle or Spartan Laser as we liked to call them. Lucky for you Sheppy, you get to see this baby in action. In the mission that is. If any of those aliens see you, they're gonna be like: Oh daaamn, what a badass!" She walked over to Shepard and handed her the MA5C.

"This is your standard issue MA5 ICWS, There are many like it but this one is yours. Well not really, this one is mine. You have to find your own on those weapons grate over there." After that, she snatched the gun from Shepard's hands and threw it by the crate that says: HANDS OFF, DIPSHITS! PROPERTY OF LT. HOLLY 'HOLLYWOOD' JONES. THIS MEANS FUCK OFF, LIMPDICKS!

"Was this really necessary?" Jane asked. She looked back to Holly only to see her legs sticking out of the large crate. She heard a few grunts before Holly submerged into the crate then emerging her head.

"Which one? The writing on my crate or the fact that the Captain sent a shit ton of weapons and ammo to the Normandy?"

"Both, actually."

"Well, the Captain isn't too comfortable of leaving any of his troops without the sweet, sweet comfort of UNSC guns. Sure, we may get used to Mass Effect weaponry but it's just not the same like the good 'ole MA5. Just like our cadence."

She hopped off the crate and started marching in place.

"Helljumper, Helljumper where have you been? Feet first into hell and back again. When I die, please bury me deep. With my MA5 buried by my feet."

Jane shook her head before taking the Elevator to the CIC. She looked at the Shuttle Bay one last time before leaving Holly to debate with James and Steve about the UNSC's weapons. Looks like Holly's making friends already.

Reaching the CIC, Samantha reminded her of a message from Captain Clarke. She read the message for all the crew to hear.

"Good news, Commander. The situation on Earth is stable. Rio was nearly decimated but nothing our Restoration Drones can handle. London from heavy Reaper assaults but she got through. Earth is back in Humanity's hands."

The bridge crew cheered as Earth successfully repelled the Reapers. Their Home was finally safe. Jane smiled at seeing the crew celebrate this victory but her smile faded when she remembered that the Reapers still threaten the galaxy. She walked over to check up on how Joker and Edi were doing.

"Hey you two."

"Commander."

"Hey, Shepard. How's our guest down there?"

Jane leaned on the pilot's chair and taking his cap, placing it on her head "She's getting along with James and Steve. Heard them talking about the guns Captain William sent onboard." She removed herself from the chair and struck a pose "Well? What do you think? Do I look good with a cap?"

Joker didn't respond and nodded to EDI. The AI walked over to Shepard and held out her hand "Commander Shepard. Will you kindly hand me Joker's cap, please?"

Jane let out an amused snort before giving EDI the cap "Can't say no to a pretty lady. Pretty, robotic, lady that is."

Joker took the cap from the Al and decided to change the subject "You ever wondered how the UNSC managed to make that big of a ship without the help of Eezo?"

"The first time I heard it, I thought it was impossible. Imagine my surprise when they told me about Infinity. That behemoth was at least 5.6 klicks!"

Joker's eyes widened while EDI closed her eyes as something entered the ship unannounced "That big!? How the hell does that work?"

Jane shrugged "Don't know. But we sure as hell could've used one. They told me it was the first of it's kind, an Infinity-class Supercarrier."

"Wait, what class was the Overwhelming and how big is she?"

"Orion-class Assault Carrier. The Captain said it was 2.2 klicks."

Joker thought of something "What would they class the Normandy as?"

Jane looked away and rubbed the back of her neck. He's not gonna like what they had to say to the Normandy "Uh... They classified the Normandy as a... Corvette."

Joker kept his expression neutral "What?"

"They said the old Normandy was the size of a Corvette and the SR-2 was double the size of the SR-1 but still lack the size to be called a Frigate." She bit her lip and looked away, waiting for Joker's outburst.

"... A Corvette!?"

"Oh Jesus, here we go."

"They think my baby is a friggin' Corvette! This ship is a thousand times better than any Frigate they have! I mean loom at their ship. It's too bulky and no finesse whatsoever. I bet their Frigates are not as durable as the Normandy. They probably so soft that they could easily get cut in half!"

"Commander." EDI interrupted "There's somethi-"

"And don't forget the fact that the Normandy has a highly advanced AI that the best money can buy and the best damn pilot in the galaxy!"

"While I'll admit you're one of the best pilots in the galaxy, Joker." A voice interrupted them. Shepard knew that voice and sighed. How the hell did she get in here? Mindy's avatar appeared to where EDI's used to appear before she got a physical body.

"But can your Frigates fire three nuclear missiles? THREE!"

"It's a Stealth Frigate, what do we need nukes for?"

Mindy turned around and slapped her butt while looking at Joker and sticking out her tongue "Blegh, you don't have nukes. You don't have nukes."

'This is a 'Smart' AI? This was the one that controlled those MACs and destroyed those Reapers? I'm not really seeing it.' Jane thought as she shook her head at Mindy's antics.

"Commander." Edi began "MND 0189-8 is requesting permission to integrate with the Normandy."

"Granted." She loeoked at Mindy "William trusts you with the lives of his men. I hope that trust isn't misplaced."

Mindy's expression turned serious "I won't let you down."

Jane smiled "Good to hear."

Mindy's avatar blinked out. EDI felt the AI enter the Normandy's system and watched her settle in. She turned to Shepard "Mindy is currently integrating with the ship."

"Giggidy."

EDI tilted her head and asked Mindy "I fail to see what is so amusing with the word Integrating."

"Oh, I'll tell you why it's so amusing~"

Joker shook his head "Oh no. I am NOT listening to that."

"Oh come on, Chris Griffin. Don't tell me you don't wanna smack that ass?"

"Yes! I-I mean... No... Agh! Whatever!"

"Death by jokes from an AI. Ironic for you, isn't it Joker?"

Joker sighed, resigned to his fate of eternal teasing from Mindy and Shepard.

~Line Break~

Traianus was sitting on the chair on a chair in the Mess Hall, nodding his head along the music blasting from the old music player that he found. It also came with a pair of earphones.

This was the sight that met Jane when she entered the Crew Deck. She watched as the Brute unconsciously tap his fingers along with the beat. She greeted the crewmen she passed by before entering the Main Battery room. She walked up to the console but stopped before she pressed anything. She shook her, not knowing what the right calibrations were.

'I wish Garrus was here. He knows this shit like the back of his hand.' She sighed before leaving. She wondered if she could find her old crew again. Ashley being here is good and all but she was still wary of her. Speaking of which, said woman was currently observing the Brute.

Ashley kept an observing gaze at Traianus. The Brute was an unknown to her. It's still hard for her to believe that there was another dimension out there. From what she heard from the Marines of the UNSC, the Jiralhanae were very aggressive, carnivorous beings that could crush a soldier's head with their bare hands. If they didn't kill you, they will either eat you or let the other Covenant species eat you. That was enough for Ashley to always carry a pistol with her.

"Hey." Jane greeted "You're gonna give him the stink-eye for the whole trip?"

"I don't trust him. Liara, Tali, Garrus, hell, even Wrex. I trust them to cover my six. Him." She looked at Traianus, who at this point, slamming his fists on the table in rapid succession. He just found out what a Drum Solo is. "No chance in Hell."

"Just give him a chance. You gave everybody else one. Why not him?"

Ashley sighed "Alright, you win. But if he grabs one of the crew and eats them, don't come crying to me, Shepard."

Traianus roared "Ahaha! This music is amazing! I must hear more."

The Brute stood up and went to find someone who can help him gain more music for his player. Jane saw Traianus leave and spotted the Gravity Hammer on the table. Going against her better judgement, she tried to lift the weapon and to no avail.

'How heavy are you?' She thought before finally giving up on it. She'll remind Traianus later if she sees him.

~Line Break~

Jane entered her Cabin and saw the fish were still alive. A note was taped by the tank. It said: I'll only do this once Commander. XOXO SPC. Traynor.

She chuckled before taking off her clothes and headed for the shower. Before she entered however, she heard a high-pitched voice coming from inside. She grabbed the M-3 Predator and barged inside. What faced her was something she sure as hell wasn't expecting

Lipyap, wearing a hairnet, was in the middle of scrubbing his armpit when Shepard came in. She didn't really care for the reason why he was wearing a hairnet. She was more concerned on how he got in here without her or EDI knowing.

The Unggoy stared at her before grabbing a soap and handing it out to her "Wanna join, Commander Human? I got shampoo, conditioner, more soap and an extra sponge, too."

She blinked twice before sighing. What the hell was going on in her ship? She shook her head and left the shower "You go on ahead. Just use the Crew's shower next time, alright?"

"Sure thing, Commander Human."

The shower door closed and Jane heard Lipyap started singing again. This was gonna take long. She made a beeline for her bed, intent on taking a nap. She didn't even notice the other person next to her. It was only when she felt something brushing her thigh did she notice the other occupant on the bed.

Lying on her side, while wiggling her eyebrows, suggestively was a very naked Holly. The Helljumper leaned closer 'til they were face-to-face "You look like you need to relax." She whispered as her hand trailed to a very dangerous spot "I have ways to make you loose your mind."

And now we see Holly getting kicked out of Shepard's Cabin. She tried to get back in only to realize she was locked out. She banged on the door "Come on, Sheppy. It was just a joke. I wouldn't sleep with you unless Wade was with us and I have a strap-on!"

No answer.

"Can you at least give me my clothes?"

Still no answer.

"Damn it."

She sighed before making her way to the Elevator. When she reached the Shuttle Bay, she passed by James, who was doing pushups, and said "Not one word."

James got up as Steve walked over to him "Uh, what was that about?"

"No idea. But I'm not complaining." He eyed her as she walked over to a crate and began rummaging inside.

A water bottle hit his head and Holly yelled out "This ass ain't yours, muscle boy!"


	5. SSDD: Crisis on Palaven

A/N: Not gonna a update for a few days due to exams.

"Alright, Mindy. I'll let you off the hook on this one. But you better get your ass back here as soon as you're done in Palaven, understood?"

William looked down on Mindy's hologram. He didn't know how she did it but she did. She actually split herself in half. One to run the ship and the other to integrate with the Normandy. He doesn't know if this has any side effects. Even she doesn't know what will happen if she's split for a long time. One thing's for sure, he doesn't like it.

"Will do, Captain. Oh, there's a call for you. It's coming from the Citadel."

William sighed "Damn it. I just wanna sleep. Is that too much to ask? Put whoever it is through."

"Connecting you now."

Looking to the monitor on his right, the face of the Asari Councilor appeared "Good Evening, Councilor Tevos. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Good Evening, Captain. I know you-"

"CAPTAIN!"

"I'll call you back."

He cut the feed and looked at Mindy's avatar.

"What is it?"

"We just got word from The Alliance. They discovered a Cerberus lab located on the planet Sanctum. The Alliance is still rebuilding and asked if us of we can check it out. Secure the lab if we can. What are your orders, sir?"

William brought a hand under his chin to think.

'Cerberus, huh? This could be a chance to find out more about them. We're gonna need one alive.' He turned to the screen "Call, Director."

He waited a few seconds before Wade's face flashed on the screen "What do you need, Captain?"

"The Alliance just forwarded us a mission. They found a Cerberus laboratory in Sanctum. I want you to clean that lab up and gather whatever info on Cerberus you can find. And if you can, capture an operative... Make him squeal."

"...will do, sir."

The screen blinked out and William turned to Mindy "Are any of the Paris-class Heavy Frigates still onboard?"

Mindy nodded "We got one."

She held out her hand and a hologram of a Frigate materialized "UNSC FFG-035 Achilles' Heel. The Son of Priam and the City of Light are helping on the reconstruction of London and Rio. I'm not sure if it was luck that Unrivaled and Unstoppable were the only ones that didn't come with us during Slipspace. Anyway, should I brief them on the mission?"

"Please do."

Mindy dematerialized and William turned back to the screen to resume his talk with Tevos as the screen blinked to life.

"Sorry about that, Councilor. What were you saying?"

~Line Break~

"This is Achilles' Heel actual to Overwhelming. We are clear to go on your mark."

"Copy, Achilles. Mark"

The Frigate exited Overwhelming and prepped for a Slipspace Jump.

"Attention, all hands. Prepare for Slipspace Jump."

A portal opened in front of Achilles and the Frigate entered, beginning their journey to Sanctum.

Inside Achilles' drop bay, Wade was currently setting his weapons inside the SOEIV. Wes walked over to him.

"You know it would at least be an hour or two before we get there, right? This isn't a Long Range Insertion Pod, you know."

Wade shrugged in reply before entering the pod and making himself comfortable enough to sleep in it. Wes shook his head as he stared at his friend "You miss them, don't you?"

"Of course I do. That's my wife and kid out there. We were inseparable. At least I know she'll keep an eye on them. Anyway, is there something you need?"

"No, no. Just passing through. I'll be in the Chapel if you need me."

Wade eyed the cross pendant around Wes' neck "You still have that?"

Wes fingered the cross before replying "Of course. Forerunners, Reapers, Protheans. I'll stick with my beliefs 'til the end, thank you."

Wade shrugged before crossing his arms and lying back "Whatever you say, Wes. Whatever you say."

Wes watched Wade for a few more seconds before heading for the Chapel. Somehow, he ended up being Overwhelming's Chaplain. Because of that, he mostly acts as everyone's favorite Chaplain. But he couldn't have asked for more.

~Line Break~

"Jesus."

Holly muttered as she watched the Turian Fleet battle against the Reapers. The squids were just shrugging off their attack, not even slowing down. Just destroying whatever's in unlucky enough to be in their path.

"Holy Hell." James exclaimed "They're getting decimated."

"The strongest military in the galaxy and the Reapers are obliterated it." Shepard added. She wondered. If the UNSC hadn't arrived, would share the same fate? She shook her head. Best not to dwell on it now.

"Was it like this? On Earth?" Liara asked.

"Was." Holly answered "But we kicked their asses off and started rebuilding. Honestly, I can barely give a damn about who they fight."

"You mean you don't care about what happens to the other Citadel races?"

"Yeah. I mean what have they ever done for us? First Contact? Fail. Sovereign? They refused to believe Shepard and then the Citadel was attacked. What did they do? They covered it up by using the Geth as an escape goat. The Collectors? They didn't give a damn since it was only Human colonies that were getting hit. All they've ever done was deny the Reapers existence. Look who paid the price first, Humanity. Now they're mistakes are coming back to bite them in the ass. I just wanna make this clear, Blue. I hate aliens. Thirty years of genocide can do that. The only ones I don't hate are the ones that earned and deserve respect, not counting Lipyap. I just like the little guy. To be honest, none of the Citadel races earned my respect and seeing them turn a blind eye on Humanity isn't helping their case. But that doesn't mean I won't be professional about it."

Throughout her rant, Traianus stayed in favor of checking his gear. Three Spike Grenades, two Incendiary Grenades, Plasma Rifle and his Gravity Hammer, The Victorious.

"That's enough, Holly." Shepard ordered.

"Commander." The pilot began "The LZ's getting swarmed."

Holly grinned and put on her helmet "Good. I need something to shoot anyway."

"James, open that hatch."

Holly waited for the hatch to open before firing at the Husks climbing from the side of the cliff.

"Die, you stupid fucks! Die!"

There were still a few Husks that got away but came back as soon as the Kodiak landed. Shepard got off first and took point with Holly covering the rear. They reached a small command center where a Turian was handling a console.

"General."

The Turian glanced at Shepard before returning to his work "Commander Shepard. I heard you were coming but I didn't believe it. General Corinthus."

"I've come to get Primarch Fedorian."

Corinthus stopped typing and was silent for a moment. With a solemn tone, he said "Primarch Fedorian is dead. His shuttle was shot down an hour ago as it tried to leave the moon."

"Son of a bitch!" Holly yelled. She ignored the looks they gave her before radioing Mindy "Mindy, you heard all that?"

"Affirmative. Should I relay it to the Captain?"

"Go ahead."

~Line Break~

"Primarch Fedorian is dead, sir. Got shot down before the Normandy reached the moon."

William sighed "This is gonna complicate things."

He turned to the screen on his right and said "Mindy, get me a line to Councilor Sparatus.

With a silent nod, Mindy did what she was told. A few moments later, the screen flashed to life and the Turian Councilor's face appeared " What is it, Captain? Your AI told me this was important."

"It is, Councilor. Primarch Fedorian is dead. His shuttle was shot down as he left Palaven's moon. I'm sorry."

Sparatus was silent. He sighed before replying "This doesn't change things, Captain. The deal is still a go as long as you escort the next Primarch."

"Who might that be, Councilor?"

"General Adrien Victus. I'll inform Palaven Command on what's going on. I pray to the Spirits that he won't end up like Fedorian."

"He won't, Councilor. I'll make sure of that."

"How so?"

William took a deep breath before answering "I'll have Overwhelming make a Slipspace Jump to Palaven. Hopefully, this will catch those squids by surprise."

"Thank you, Captain. You have eternal gratitude. May the Spirits guide you to victory."

The screen turned off and Mindy's avatar materialized on the holotank next to his desk "Are you sure that was wise? I mean I'm up for saving Palaven and all but is it worth risking Overwhelming?"

"Not if it's extracting YOUR mother, it's not."

"Ooooh, Okay. I understand. Should I alert the ship, Captain?"

"Please do. I'm gonna make a call to the Alliance. I'll leave the Son of Priam and City of Light to oversee Earth's defenses. Hopefully, the Reapers are too busy fighting someone else."

The AI nodded before dematerializing, leaving the Captain to inform the Alliance.

~Line Break~

After hearing the Primarch's death, Corinthus told them to repair the Comm Tower so he can contact Palaven Command on who would be the next Primarch. Reaching the tower, Shepard ordered James and Liara to repair the Tower while the rest would cover them.

Holly cursed as a Husk got too close. The Husk pinned her to the ground. Three Husks moving in to swarm her. Growling, she headbutted the Reaper and pulled out her M6C/SOCOM. She fired one to the head and rose to a crouch. She fired on one Husk's feet, forcing it to stumble to the ground. She used her knee to pin it to the ground before doing the same to the second one, piling them over each other. With their heads aligned, she fired one bullet that pierced through and killed them both. Without looking, she pointed the pistol behind her and killed the final Husk charging her. She rose from the ground and brushed off the dust on her armor. She looked to her companions and saw them hold their own.

Traianus grabbed a Husk by the neck and crushed it. With a roar, he raised his Gravity Hammer and slammed it hard on the ground. Crushing the Husk unfortunate enough to be on it's path and blasting away the ones near them. He dropped the Hammer and grabbed a Husk's neck. With a roar, he pulled the Husk's head, along with it's spinal cord, off it's body.

Shepard activated her Omni-Blade and sent an uppercut at the closest Husk. She raised her M-23 Katana and blasted another Husk's top half off. Without missing a beat, she dodged and pulled out her M-3 Predator before unloading on a staggering Husk. That was the last of the Husks. James rejoined them.

"General, do you read? The Comms Tower is now operational."

"Much appreciated, Commander. I'll contact Palaven Command."

"Let me know if you got something."

"Come, Shepard." Traianus called out "Let us rid this world of these vile beasts!"

He roared as he charged against the incoming Husks. Seeing him as the bigger threat, the Husks charged at the Jiralhanae and tried to overwhelm him. Holly rushed to the Jiralhanae's aid but stopped when Traianus emerged from the pile. His eyes filled with bloodlust, he killed the Husks with his bare hands. He grabbed the final Husk and lifted it high before slamming it's back to his knee, bending the Reaper in half.

Holly whistled "Well, that was easy... for him, anyways."

Jane was about to respond when her comms crackled to life "Commander Shepard, come in."

"Go ahead."

"I have information from Palaven Command. Please return ASAP."

"On our way." She turned to her group "Alright everyone. We're heading back. Let's move."

Everyone followed but not before Traianus threw the Husk's body off the cliff and retrieving his Gravity Hammer.

Soon they returned to General Corinthus. The General turned to them "Palaven Command is in chaos but they got word from Councilor Sparatus on the next Primarch."

"Who is it?"

"General Adrien Victus."

Jane heard a familiar voice and turned to the newcomer. Holly saw a scarred Turian in dark blue armor. A sniper rifle was in his hands and a visor adorned his face.

"Garrus?"

"Vakarian, sir!" Corinthus stood in attention "I didn't see you arrive."

"At ease, General." Replied the scarred Turian.

"Good to see you again. I thought you'd be on Palaven." Shepard greeted.

"If we lose this moon, we lose Palaven. I'm the closest thing they have to an expert to Reaper forces so I advise them."

Shepard stepped aside for James, Holly and Traianus to step forward "James, Holly, Traianus. This is Garrus Vakarian, he helped me stop the Collectors. One helluva soldier."

James shook his hand. Garrus nodded in greeting "Lieutenant." He then turned to Liara "Good to see you too, Liara."

The Asari stepped forward "Good to see you in one piece, Garrus."

The Turian then turned to the Jiralhanae "I see you discovered a new species, Shepard. I believe I didn't catch your name."

The Jiralhanae grunted "Traianus, I am a Jiralhanae or Brute as the humans call us. It is pride to meet a warrior such as yourself."

"You've heard of me?"

"From what the Commander tells me. You are, as the humans say, one tough son of a bitch. An odd expression if you ask me."

Garrus chuckled before looking at the ODST. Holly took off her helmet and gave a lazy, two-finger salute. She smirked at the Turian's shocked expression at seeing her similarities to Shepard.

"Sup."

Garrus blinked twice before looking back and fort between Holly and Shepard "Well... You are full of surprises today, Shepard." He shook his head "Anyway. General Victus is appointed the next Primarch. I was fighting alongside him this morning. Lifelong military, gets results, popular with his troops, not so popular with military command. Has a reputation of playing loose with excerpted strategy."

"I think he might be the only way to save Palaven."

"He'll do whatever it takes. Reminds me of an old Spectre I knew."

"Okay, let's get him to a shuttle and let's move."

"Commander Shepard!" Joker's voice screamed through her comms "Come in."

"Can this wait, Joker? We're in the middle of a war zone."

"There's some freaky shit going on in the Normandy, Commander." Mindy's voice replied "Something's making everything go haywire. I'll try and contain the situation here, you just worry about getting that Primarch outta that moon."

"Alright, Mindy. Try to find and fix that problem. The Normandy better be intact when we get back."

"Understood, ma'am."

"Should I go back and take a look?" Liara asked. Shepard nodded and the Asari left for the Kodiak. She then turned to Garrus "Garrus, you said you were with Victus this morning?"

"Yeah but we got separated. He went to bolster a flank that was breaking. He could be anywhere out there." The Turian replied.

"We're trying to raise him, Commander." Added Corinthus.

"Garrus, take me to the last place you saw Victus."

"Finally." Holly exclaimed. She slammed a new clip on the M6C/SOCOM and made sure the rest of her weapons were loaded. Traianus checked his Brute Plasma Rifle and Spiker's energy levels before following after the group.

~Line Breaker~

"We got a big guy!"

Holly yelled from behind her cover. They were in the camp, trying to clear it from the Husks, Cannibals and Marauders. Things were going even until the big monster came to the battle. The big guy was called a Brute. Too bad for the Reapers, Traianus does not like sharing the nickname with this abomination. He roared before dropping the dead Husk in his hands and running at the Brute with his Gravity Hammer.

Traianus lunged, swinging his Gravity Hammer right at the Reaper Brute's face. The Reaper staggered before charging at Traianus and tackling the Jiralhanae to the ground. Raising it's arms, the Reaper slammed them hard on Traianus' chest. The Jiralhanae roared in pain before and punching the Reaper off him. He grabbed the Reaper, lifted it high and slammed it to the ground. Without giving at a chance to recover, he raised his foot and crushed the Reaper's skull. His victory was short lived when a second Brute charge and knocked him to the ground. The Jiralhanae rose from the ground and wiped the blood from his mouth. He looked to his left and saw his discarded Gravity Hammer. He shook his head, he will destroy this beast with his bare hands.

"Come, abomination! I will tear your head off with my bare hands!"

He let out a roar and met the Brute's charge. The two collided but Traianus tackled the Brute and mercilessly punched the abomination in the face. He grabbed it by the neck and lifted it up. He stared the Brute in the face as he bared his fangs before slamming it to the ground. He grabbed it's head and used his foot to anchor the body before giving a mighty pull. He roared as the head was torn free from it's body.

Unbeknownst to him, the camp was clear and everyone else was watching the Jiralhanae battle against the Brutes. Holly whistled "Damn."

"Yeah." Jane agreed.

Traianus huffed at the corpse before joining Shepard, the severed head still in his grasp. The group then made their way to one of the bunkers and the ramp set down. A Turian in black and red armor stepped out. The group approached him.

"General Victus?" Shepard asked.

"Yes." The General replied before eyeing the severed head in Traianus' hand.

"I'm Commander Shepard of the Normandy."

"Ah, Commander. I know who you are. I can't wait to find out what brings you out here." He then spotted Garrus "Vakarian, where did you go?"

"Heavy Reaper unit on the right flank. I believe your exact words were 'Get that thing the hell of my neck.' " Garrus replied.

Victus nodded "Appreciated."

Shepard took a step forward "General, you're needed of planet. We've come to get you."

"It'll take something beyond important for me to leave my men and my Turian brothers and sisters in a fight." Victus challenged.

"Fedorian was killed." Garrus bluntly replied "You're the next Primarch."

"You're needed immediately to represent your people to fight against the Reapers."

The General was silent before walking past Shepard and staring at the burning Palaven.

"I'm Primarch of Palaven. Negotiator for the Turian Hierarchy." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes." Shepard replied.

Victus turned around to face Shepard "I've spent my entire life in the military. I'm not a diplomat. I hate diplomats."

"War is your résumé. In times like this, we need people who've been through that hell."

"I like that. You're right."

"And honestly, uniting these races would take as much strength as facing the Reapers." She turned and walked over a ridge that overlooked a downed Turian Frigate "See this devastation, Primarch? Double that and worse. I need an alliance. I need the Turian fleet."

The New Primarch walked over to Shepard and stared her right in the eye. Silence passed before Victus gave his answer "Give me a few moments to say goodbye to my men."

Shepard nodded and watched the Primarch walk away. Garrus walked over and said "Without him here, there's a good chance that we'll lose this fight."

"Without him up there, there's a good chance that we lose everything." Jane retorted.

"Look at that."

Shepard turned to where he was gazing and saw the Reaper.

"And they want my opinion to stop it!? Failed C-Sec Officer, Vigilante and now I'm their expert adviser? Think you can win this thing, Shepard?"

"I don't know, Garrus. But I sure as hell am gonna give it my best shot." She replied with unwavering conviction in her voice.

"I'm damn sure nobody else can do it. But for what it's worth, I'm with you."

The two shook hands and Shepard smiled "Welcome aboard, Garrus." She turned to Victus "Are you ready, Primarch Victus?"

The Primarch turned away from his men and said "One thing, Commander. I appreciate your need for a fleet but I can't spare them, not while my home is burning. But if the pressure could be taken off Palaven."

"You don't have to worry about that Primarch." Holly interrupted.

"Oh? And why is that?"

Holly looked at her watch then pointed up. The group looked to the sky and saw a Slipspace Portal appearing. The portal appeared behind the Reaper and the Power Overwhelming came out. The Combat Assault Carrier rammed the Reaper and fired two MAC rounds that broke through the squid.

Holly smirked as she saw the number of Pelicans entering the moon and Palaven. Some of them were carrying Scorpions, Grizzly and other ground vehicles. Her smirk turned into a full-blown grin as 'Fortunate Son' started playing. A Pelican landed in front of them and a squad of Marines disembarked.

"God bless the UNSC!"

~Line Break~

"That's one squid down, Captain. We gotta thank Palaven Command for the heads up on the number of Reapers in the place and the planet's solar radiation levels. By the way, Shivas are on standby. As you requested." Mindy relayed William.

"Alright, Mindy. Report to me anything of importance. Power Overwhelming." He looked over the bridge. A smile made it's way to his lips and his eyes burned with determination "Let's kick some fucking ass!"

"OORAH!"

"Captain, enemy fighters coming in! Designated as eyeballs."

"Affirmative. Point-defense Guns, concentrate fire on those eyeballs. The guns won't do shit on those squids. I want Archer missiles to wear their shields out, the MACs will finish them off."

The Overwhelming released a set of Archer missiles on the nearest squid, a MAC round to it's mantle finished it off.

"Sir, Reaper numbers are still high and they are now diverting their attention on us."

"Thank you, Ensign."

"Sir, the Pelican sent to retrieve the Primarch and Shepard's team had just docked, so is the Normandy." Mindy reported. Her avatar was sitting on a holographic chair in front of dozens of holograms. Each one showing the different weaponry she was in control of. "Pow! Right in the kisser."

William shook his head "Tell them to report to the bridge, stat. I need to know what's going on that moon, the planet, everything!"

"Sergeant Apone is informing them now."

~Line Break~

"Commander Shepard, Primarch Victus."

Shepard turned to the speaker and saw a dark-skinned Marine with a cigar in his mouth and a UNSC cap on his head, approached and saluted them "Master Sergeant Al Apone. The Captain wants to see you, immediately."

The two followed the Marine and made their way to the bridge. When they entered, they saw the crew working frantically in their stations. Shepard saw Mindy on her little hologram control room and saw William looming over the holomap. Apone motioned for them to proceed before leaving to prep his Marines for combat drop.

William saw the two from the corner of his eyes and stood straight. He nodded in greeting "Commander, Primarch. Glad you could join us. Primarch. My name is William Clarke, Captain of Power Overwhelming. Councilor Sparatus would fill you in on what's going on." He looked at the AI "Mindy."

Without looking away from her work, she snapped her fingers and the video screen on the table beside Victus flashed to life, revealing the Turian Councilor.

"I'll leave you two to talk. Shepard, a moment please."

Shepard walked over to William and the Captain nodded to the holomap "What's the situation on that moon?"

"Not good. Garrus said if they lose the moon, they loose Palaven. Victus won't leave until Palaven's free from Reaper presence."

William nodded "Alright, so we can't lose that moon or we loose Palaven. If we can secure that moon then Overwhelming can build a Firebase there. If the Marines on Palaven find a secure area, we'll be able to establish a base and send in the ground teams. Hmm. The Falcons can sweep around the city, provide some air support."

"Captain." Mindy called out while keeping her eyes on the hologram screens "We got Broadswords making hit-and-run tactics on the Sovereign-class Reapers and taking out Reaper Destroyers. The Turians down there are holding their own. They're not giving up without a fight."

"Are there any openings for the Pelican to drop a Firebase?"

"We got a small window. Luckily, Fireteam Rhino is active. Lieutenant Lisa Reid can make it through that window. They'll drop the Firebase." She paused for a second "Sergeant Apone's team is ready and headed for the moon now. Should I inform Fireteam Rhino of their mission?"

"Do it."

"Acknowledged."

~Line Break~

"Roger that, Mindy. I can see the window. We'll make it."

"Good luck."

Reid let out a breath before looking to her right. Winter was currently her copilot for today. Spunkmeyer was recently transferred to 2nd Battalion, making Winter, who was the only one on Fireteam Rhino that had experience flying a Condor.

"Do you even know what you're doing, Winter?"

"Uh, it's all coming back to me. Don't worry."

"This was a bad idea."

The trip went smoothly until the landing that is. The Condor got through the Reapers in space and successfully dropped the Firebase. The problem was they were attacked by the eyeballs. The eyeballs and Destroyers sent them flying into a building, knocking out Reid in the process. Winter took the controls and managed to crash the Condor to a clearing. Luckily, the Longsword chased away the eyeballs before they could get anywhere near the dropship.

O'Neal groaned from his seat and glared at Winter "That was some of the best flying I've ever seen right until Winter took the goddamn controls."

Bella got off her seat and helped O'Neal off his. She turned to see Winter carry Reid out the cockpit.

"Come on." He ordered.

The foursome got off the Condor and Winter set Reid down gently on the ground. The pilot woke up and was met by Winter's face. She blinked before slowly sitting up and saw the wreckage of the Condor. She turned to Winter, fury evident in her eyes "What the Hell, man!?"

Before he could reply, Reid's comm crackled to life.

"Fireteam Rhino, what the hell just happened down there? You're Condor's signal just died."

"Winter just crashed my favorite ship."

"We're still alive, aren't we?" Winter replied.

He spoke to soon as Cannibals, Marauders and Husks came out. Winter helped Reid up and pulled out his M6H. O'Neal heaved his M739 SAW LMG and covered the group as they went back to take refuge on the downed Condor. Bella joined O'Neal in covering Winter while Reid was having a slight panic attack. Put her on any ship, she'll be cocky with the skills to back it up. Put her on a firefight, she'll need a few moments to recover before she can fight evenly.

Winter gently shook her shoulders "Come on, Reid. Stay with me now."

It wasn't working. Reid was still hyperventilating. Winter cursed "Come on, Lisa. I'm not gonna let you, or anyone else, die here. Lisa, snap out of it goddammit!"

"Got that stick outta her ass yet, Winter?" Bella yelled over the sounds of gunfire.

Winter growled "Are we really doing this now!?"

He shook her violently this time, which seemed to work as the Pilot slowly regained her wits. Winter brought a hand on her shoulder, his eyes filled with concern "Are you alright now, Lisa?"

Lisa brought a hand on top of his before shakily nodding "A little bit, yeah. Thanks, Christopher."

Winter smiled "Only my mother calls me Christopher."

Lisa chuckled but was cut off when Husk shrieked "I need a gun, fast!"

Winter gave her an M7 Caseless before pulling out a MA37 "Come on, let's kill some aliens."

The four held their ground as the Reapers closed in.

~Line Break~

"Captain, Firebase secured. Requesting a Pelican to extract Fireteam Rhino."

"Acknowledged."

Jane watched through the bridge's window as the space battle raged on. After being briefed by Sparatus, Victus was asked to stay in Overwhelming for now. Garrus was currently going through a tour of Overwhelming after seeing the Normandy and her crew again.

The Primarch approached William "Captain, thank you for having me here."

He held out his hand and William shook it "Of course, Primaries. If you want, you can advise my Marines down there on what to do. It's only fair that you get to take back your home planet, even if it's not on ground side."

He motioned for the holomap and the Primarch walked over to it. The holomap changed and showed them an overview of the Marines' progress on Palaven. With their support, the Turians were slowly but surely kicking the Reapers off the planet.

"I'll leave you to it, Primarch."

The Primarch nodded before calling Shepard. Jane walked over to Victus "Is there something you need, Primarch?"

"Yes. Shepard, I'll be blunt. We need the Krogan. I don't see us winning this thing without their help. Get them to help us and you won't have to worry about the Reapers' ground troops."

"The Krogan."

William chuckled "Well, Commander. Your mission just got more complicated. I don't see the Salarians being happy with that prospect."

Victus sighed "They won't but they'll have to deal with it. Besides, if you convinced me to work with an AI, you can convince the Salarians to work with the Krogan. Hopefully."

"Good luck, Shepard. Once Palaven is secured or close to it, you can leave for your next mission." William turned to Victus "You won't mind if we head back to Earth when we're done here, Primarch? I still need to oversee the recruitment on Earth. I can't have Cerberus sleeper agents within the UNSC."

"Of course, Captain. It's your ship."

~Line Break~

"Running low on ammo here."

O'Neal yelled as he was down to his MA5D. Bella was using her M6H2, so was Winter and Reid. The Reapers were closing in on them.

"Mindy!" Winter yelled on his comm "Where's our extraction?"

"Look up."

Winter walked to the cockpit and looked to the sky. A Falcon came into view as the door gunners fired away at the Reapers. A second Falcon landed outside their Condor and saw Cruz on the door gun "Come on!"

O'Neal hurried inside and got on the second gun. Cruz got off the gun and helped get Reid on the Falcon. Bella sat beside O'Neal and opened fire with a fully-loaded MA5D. Winter gently set Reid down and got on the door gun. Cruz turned to the pilot "We're clear. Get us outta here!"

"Hold on."

The Falcon lifted off and made it's way to the Firebase. Winter turned to Cruz "Where we off to, sir?"

"Firebase to rearm. Job's not done yet Marine."

Winter scoffed "When's it ever."

On the way to the Firebase, Winter kept glancing at Reid. At some point, the pilot fell asleep from exhaustion. He keeps forgetting that she wasn't a Marine. Comparing her physique to Bella, the Marine was more built than Reid. At least she could shoot and slightly keep up with them. Winter took his gaze away from the pilot and watched a squid crash into the ground. He looked at the buildings. Everything was made of steel. He could see the reflection of the Falcon with each building they passed by. If it weren't for the flames and Reapers, this place would've looked amazing.

"Alright, guys. We're almost at the Firebase." The Falcon's pilot said over the comms.

O'Neal glanced over his shoulder to Winter "Better wake up your girlfriend, Boyscout."

Ignoring the jab, Winter gently shook Reid awake. The pilot opened her eyes and asked "Are we there yet?"

Winter smirked "Almost."

~Line Break~

Sergeant Al Apone jumped off the Pelican and lit the cigar in his mouth. He looked back in the Pelican "Alright, sweethearts. What are you waiting for? A red carpet? Vasquez, Drake, take point! Hudson, cover the rear! Hicks, cover Hudson. The rest of you, move it!"

Apone's team jumped off the Pelican. Vasquez and Drake, with their M247H HMG, took point. Despite the heavy weight, the two managed to wield and fire it. Hudson and Hicks wielded the MA5B. The two had enhanced motion trackers installed in their HUDs. Dietrich was the combat medic. She wore the standard Marine BDUs but her helmet had a red cross on it. Frost was the only Hellbringer on the team. The team reached a secured Turian bunker. Apone walked over to the red and black armored Turian.

"Master Sergeant Al Apone. 2nd Battalion of the UNSC. Got anything for us to do sir?"

"General Corinthus. Good to meet you, Sergeant. The Reaper ships left but they left their Husks here. I ordered the rest of my men to fall back after General- I mean, Primarch Victus left Menae. Some of you UNSC managed to take out the Husks but last reports we had of them that the Reapers sent more. Some of your Marines fell back here but the others... They weren't so lucky. Our problem right now is the Husks are making their move here. This is our last stand."

Apone grunted before looking at the camp around him "These boys and girls won't be enough to hold them off. We need flyboys to make bombing runs before those freaks get here."

"Hey, Sarge." Hudson called out "You might wanna call those flyboys now." He pointed over the ridge to the swarm of Husks.

"Damn. Hicks! Call in Overwhelming. We need Longswords bombing those motherfuckers now!"

"On it."

Corinthus looked at Apone "Let's hope we last the night, Sergeant."

"Mhmm. We will, General. We will."


	6. SSDD: Lament

"Status?"

William asked as he looked out the window. The Turians put up a damn good fight. With their combined forces, they were able to take back Palaven airspace. All that was left were the Reapers on planetside and the moon.

"Turian Fleet's looking good sir. They are now focusing on getting troops on Palaven. Some of our Broadswords didn't make it. A lot of Pelicans got shot down after the Reapers blocked their entry point. We took a lot of losses today, sir. A whole squad of ODSTs got killed before they even opened the hatches of their pods. We recovered the bodies at the least." Mindy went silent for a moment "Was it worth it? If we're gonna do this for the rest of the Council species, we're not gonna last long."

"No. This was a one time thing. We'll only go this far again if it's Earth or any of her colonies. Retrieve the bodies, we'll give them a proper burial back on Earth. If there's no body to be found... I'll personally add their names on the Wall. I ordered this mission, it's my fault they're dead. If I write their names myself, it will always be etched in my mind the good men and women who died today. As Captain of Power Overwhelming and the highest ranking officer of the UNSC in this dimension, it is my responsibility to honor their memory and face the consequences of my actions."

William stood from his chair and made HSS way to his quarters. Mindy watched him go before reading the casualty report. She knew all these people. It wasn't because she was programmed to, it was because she actually made friends with them. She knew almost all of them personally. The Captain shouldn't bear the weight of it all. She cares for him too much to see him suffer. She knows she can't stop things like this from happening but she sure as hell won't let William suffer alone.

~Line Break~

William reached his quarters and made his way to the bathroom. He leaned over the sink as he looked at his reflection. He grit his teeth and clenched his fist before punching the mirror. This got Mindy's attention.

"William!"

William brought his fist down and stared at his broken reflection. He looked behind him to see Mindy's avatar on the table. Her face was etched with worry. Like all 'Smart' AIs, they show a surprising amount of emotion. He still wondered how could something so cybernetic act more like a human than an actual one. He shook his head and stared at his knuckles. At least it wasn't bleeding this time. He walked over to the AI and lied down on his bed. He stared at her figure as she continued to watch over him with worry.

"You care for me too much, Mindy. More than I deserve."

"I'll never stop caring for you, William. I lo-"

She shut her mouth before she finished but William already knew what she was about to say. He smiled and closed his eyes.

"I love you, too. Wake me when you need me."

Mindy smiled as she watched William. She held a hand to where the human heart should be "Can an AI feel love? You just answered my question, William. Thank you."

She stayed until she was needed to oversee the construction of the Colossi.

~Line Break~

"Yeah baby. Game over for you, freaks!"

Hudson yelled as he watched the Longswords bomb the hell out of the Husks. Shaking his head, Apone nodded to Hicks. The Corporal grabbed Hudson by the back of his collar and pulled him down "You do know they still have guns right?"

Apone walked over to them and smacked Hudson's head "This ain't over yet." He pointed to the surviving Husks "Better pull your head outta your ass, Hudson. You're on the front lines."

Hudson cursed while Hicks laughed under his breath. Apone eyed the Corporal "What you laughin' at, Jarhead? You're Hudson's handler, remember? You'll be keepin' an eye on him. Move!"

The two Marines bickered as they made their way to the first line of defense. Apone shook his head before calling Dietrich "Dietrich, how are the rest of the boys doin'?"

The medic shook her head "Not good. Some of them are on critical condition. Most of them are too wounded to fight. A few of them died before we could stabilize them. We're undermanned. Even the birds have too many wounded or dead."

Apone hummed before taking a drag from his cigar. He turned to Frost "Did you tell 'em to send 'Bug Stomper'?"

The Hellbringer nodded "ETA 5 minutes."

Apone shook his head "I needed that here yesterday. Tell 'em to pick up the pace."

"Yes sir."

"Dietrich, get our boys up and ready for a fight."

"Yes sir."

Dietrich gathered at least ten Marines.

'Armed and Filthy. Just the way I like them.' Apone thought before standing in front of them.

"Alright, Sweethearts. You know why we're here. We're here to kick some, alright? That's what we gonna do, we kick some. We ain't letting some zombie looking freaks beat the hell outta the best of the Corps. We are Marines of the UNSC and we don't give up without a fight. We beat the Covenant when we were on our last legs. We sure as hell ain't gonna be beaten by some alien zombies. So let's go and kick some ass! Marines get some today! Oorah?"

"OORAH!"

Apone watched with a smile as the Marines grabbed their weapons and prepped for the incoming horde of Husks.

"Aaahh, absolute badasses. Weapons hot, Marines!"

He picked up a MA5B and took one last drag from his cigar before joining his team. The Turians and Marines didn't have to wait long as the Husks closed in on their position. Vasquez primed HMG.

"Let's rock!"

The roar of gunfire and screams filled the battlefield.

~Line Break~

"There they are!"

Captain Trudy 'Tiger' Chacon looked to the right and saw the besieged camp. Seeing the Husks so close together, she saw her chance and called Apone "Sarge, this is Trudy. I got eyes on the targets. I'm bringing the rain."

"Copy that. Let's see those fireworks, Chacon."

"You better be recording this, Old Man. Anvil-IVs away."

The Vulture, affectionately named 'Bug Stomper', released a barrage of Anvil-IV Air-to-Surface Missiles on the Husks. The missiles devastated the Reapers, destroying a large chunk of their forces.

"Fine work, Chacon. The boys and girls need their rest. The birds look like they need 'em too. I'll leave the Husks to you. Apone, out."

"Copy that. Hey, Pelayo."

"Yeah?" Lieutenant Velinda 'Deadly' Pelayo replied.

"Light those bastards up."

Pelayo smirked "With pleasure."

She fired the Vulture's GAU-23/AW/Linkless Feed Autocannons, tearing apart the Husks with 50mm bullets.

"Yeah. Don't mess with the Marines!"

General Corinthus watched in amusement as the human Marines began throwing insults at the Husks. Some Marines praised the Corps. While others just kept silent and took shots at the remaining Husks. He spotted the human, Vasquez, tear apart the Husks that managed to climb through the ridge.

"Haha! Kill 'em all baby!"

The General looked at Palaven and saw the Fleet enter orbit. Palaven will be theirs again. There's no doubt about that.

~Line Break~

"Captain, wake up."

William opened his eyes and stared at his clock. He only slept for an hour. He sat up and yawned "What is it, Mindy?"

The AI materialized on the drawer beside his bed "Commander Shepard wants to see you. She says it's urgent."

William sighed and rubbed his eyes "If she wants Overwhelming to help save another Citadel planet, tell her no."

"It's not sir. She said it involves Cerberus."

That got William to wake up. He stood up and put on his uniform "Where is she now?"

"Right outside, Captain. Should I let her in?"

"Yes, please."

His cabin door opened and Jane walked in. She took her time to observe the Captain's room and spotted three ship models on his desk, each one had a name to it.

"I see you found my ship models."

"He means his toys."

"Shut it. Anyway, what brings you here Commander? Mindy said it was urgent."

Jane nodded "It is, Captain. Samantha told me that the Grissom Academy was requesting evac. A Turian transport responded but something was a miss. EDI believed it could be Cerberus. Holly and Traianus told me that they'll be staying on Overwhelming for a bit. Didn't exactly tell me why."

"Ah, yes. Lieutenant Jones, did say she was gonna train some of the ODST recruits and candidates back on Earth."

"What about Traianus? I could sure use the muscle."

William shook his head "I asked Traianus if he could help us repair the Phantom they came here with. See if we can get some of the Covenant weapons mass produced but I doubt it. Although..."

He turned to Mindy "Mindy, get me a line with the Director."

"On it."

William, followed by Shepard, walked over to his desk and looked at the monitor. When the screen flashed to life, Wade's face came to view.

"What can I do for you, Captain?"

"How's the mission?"

"The lab is secured and the eggheads are doing their thing. I managed to interrogate one. Bastard tried a suicide pill, pulled out before he could swallow. Heh, swallow. Anyway, he cried something about an Academy. They were gonna kidnap Biotics there. Sorry, that's all I can say. He bled out before I could get the rest."

"Of course he would bleed out. You cut his Sciatic Nerve and poured gaso-"

"Okay! That's enough outta you, Peterson."

William rubbed the bridge of his nose "Alright you two, enough. Director, I want you to head to Grissom Academy. You'll be our next representative on the Normandy."

"Understood, sir. Just give us the coordinates and we'll meet them there. Daniels, out."

William turned to Shepard "There you have it, Commander. You got yourself a Spartan and a Paris-class Frigate as back up. Good luck, Shepard."

~Line Break~

ODST Training Facility 'White Castle'

Székesfehérvár, Hungary

"Burke, you call that an attention! Drop and give me 50!"

Holly ordered as she shoved the recruit to the ground. She heard someone snicker and sent a glare at the source.

"Something funny, Holland?"

The recruit straightened up "No, ma'am."

"Alright, then. Since you find Burke's punishment funny."

She pointed at the obstacle course "You'll be the first one to run the course. Start moving!"

Holland ran to the obstacle and jumped to the muddy water. Holly turned to the rest of the recruits "Well? Get moving!"

The batch of recruits followed after Holland to the mud-filled pool. After Burke was done, Holly grabbed her by the collar of her neck and threw her to the pool "Move it, Burke! Move it! All of your are wasting fucking daylight, move!"

The recruits reached the next test, a crawl through mud with barbed wire hanging over them. Holly reached them and loaded the M7 with live rounds. She fired on the ground and yelled at the recruits "Do you wanna die? Do ya? Faster! Go go go go!"

They finally reached the wall. Holly watched as some of the recruits boosted them to the top and pulled the last guys up. They reached the end of the wall where they stop.

"Jump! This is what you volunteered to do. Jump!"

Most of the recruits hesitated. Burke walked to the front and took a deep breath before jumping. Holland followed and soon, everyone jumped. Burke grunted as she reached the ground. Some of the recruits couldn't stick the landing while others were on shaky feet. Holly walked over to them, her expression neutral "That was pathetic. When you volunteered, I expected trained, disciplined soldiers. What I got are a bunch of limpdicks that didn't know shit like an FNG. ODSTs are expected to be the best of the best. No hesitation when you take that jump. Burke had the balls to take the first plunge. What about the rest of you? She had to do fifty push ups and run that course with no rest. She was the last one to reach the wall while the rest of you got there first. All of you are gonna repeat this obstacle until I see it fit to move you for the next training exercise. This ain't your ordinary boot camp nor is this your ordinary military organization. We are ODSTs. Orbital Drop Shock Troopers. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Guess what, WE are the desperate measures. Our motto. Feet First into Hell. The moment you joined us, your life expectancy just turned a whole lot shorter. We don't live that long, you're lucky enough to even pass your 30s, hell, your 20s even. Not a lot of us are that lucky. This is just the first day of your training. Imagine the hell we'll put you through after this. You either back out now or this training will break you. This is Survival of the Fittest. Remember this, you're no good to me dead. Am I clear?"

"Ma'am, yes ma'am!"

"I can't hear you!"

"Ma'am, yes ma'am!"

"From the top! Back to the starting line, move!"

Holly smirked as the recruits marched back to the beginning of the course. She was gonna make these SA Marines into Top-of-the-line, Helljumpers. That is, IF they pass the ODST training.

'I wonder how Wade is doing now. Eh, whatever. He can take care of himself. Now, where the hell can Mama find some food around here?' She thought before having Lieutenant Durand take over and began looking for something to eat.

~Line Break~

"Damn it! Where the hell is Wade!?"

Wes cursed as he and Shepard's group were pinned down by a Cerberus mech. After Achilles' Heel linked up with the Normandy and Shepard, they entered the Academy and met up with Kahlee Sanders. She told them of the situation and began saving the students from Cerberus. They met up with an old friend of Shepard but was interrupted by an Atlas. And here they are now, taking shots at the mech while making sure they won't get their brains blown off. Oh, and Wade went ahead to look for other students.

"Forget it, Wes. He's probably having his own problems. He maybe got pinned down on the way here."

"Not likel-"

He was cut off when they heard screams and gunfire coming from doors where the Mech came from. The doors opened and the group saw the smoking corpses of Cerberus troops. A SPARTAN-IV stood over them, a smoking AIE-486H in his hands "Hello."

Beside him was Lahr. A Type-52 Plasma Cannon in his hands while a Plasma Carbine was on his back "Hi."

The two showered the mech with bullets and plasma while also taking down other Cerberus troops. When the troops were dead, the Elite dropped his weapon. Wade stopped firing at the Atlas and everyone watched as the Sangheili jumped on top of the mech and slam his fist on the glass repeatedly. The pilot became frantic as he tried to shake the Elite off of him. Lahr roared and broke through the glass. He grabbed the pilot by the neck before throwing him out. The Elite leapt off the mech and stalked towards the downed pilot. The pilot slowly backpedaled but Lahr grabbed him by the neck and lifted him so he can stare at the pilot face-to-face.

The Elite tilted his head as he looked at the frightened pilot "Cerberus. Hmph."

He took out his plasma sword and stabbed the pilot in the midsection "Cowards."

He dropped the body and and deactivates his plasma sword. He picked up his Plasma Cannon and nodded to Shepard's group "We have cleared the path to your vessel, Commander. We have also encountered some... students behind an energy shield. They would not heed our words. Perhaps they will heed yours."

Jane stared at the dead body before looking up at the Elite "Just give me a moment to talk to my friends."

Lahr nodded "Of course but I advise you to hurry, there could be more of these Cerberus filth in this station."

"I'll make it quick."

Wade walked over to Lahr "I still have three more ammo boxes for this. Enough to hold off for the extraction. What about you?"

"Forty on the Carbine. The Plasma Cannon has enough as well."

The group were startled when the doors were blown away. Everyone raised their weapons and aimed at the doorway. They heard thundering footsteps and prepared themselves for another fight with a mech. What they saw was not something they expected.

An Atlas mech came through the door but that wasn't caught their attention. No, it was Lipyap on the pilot seat. The mech's glass was broken and replaced with metal pieces welded to cover the opening. How he managed to fit in that, they'll never know. The Unggoy waved at them "Hey, Humans! I've been looking everywhere for you guys. A lot of the mean humans tried to shoot me but they had poor aim. Even poorer than me when I forget to eat my nipple rations and start seeing things like the Flood and the Ur-Didact and the Demon and the Arbiter and there was this one time when I saw the Prophet of Truth and Regret..."

Wade facepalmed "God, please let it end."

Lahr growled before picking up the Unggoy and started strangling him "Why you little..."

Jane walked over to Wade and asked "Shouldn't we do something about that?"

Wade stopped looking at the two and looked down on Shepard. The SPARTAN shrugged "Not really. They do this all the time, even before the War ended. They're still here, aren't they?" He shook his head "I'll never get used to the fact that you look like my wife, only younger."

He pulled off his helmet and watched as some of the biotics talked to Lahr and Lipyap. They were excited over the two new species in their dimension.

"That's a sight you don't see in our dimension. Human kids, having a conversation with a Sangheili and Unggoy without screaming bloody murder. Jesus, nearly three decades of near genocide and now another alien species are after Humanity's destruction. I'm getting too old for this shit."

Wade ran a hand through his hair and 5 o'clock shadow "Hm. I think I'll keep this. I'm hitting fifty in two years anyway. Might as well look the part."

Suddenly, everyone's Omni-tool flashed to life and an accented voice began "Grissom Academy, the station is sealed. The Alliance soldiers cannot save you. All they can do is get you killed. Surrender peacefully and you won't be harmed."

Jack snorted "Asshole."

Wade snickered "Hey, Wes. The guy sounds like he's from Star Wars. You know, the Empire dudes."

"Huh, he does."

"W-what if they're not lying." One of the students, Rodriguez, said.

"Whoa there, kid. Are you saying you're actually thinking of surrendering to those bastards?"

"But-"

She was cutoff when Jack grabbed her collar "You see these scars, Rodriguez? Come on, take a good look. Cerberus did this to me when I was half your age." She let the biotic go and looked at her students "Surrender and you're a meat on a slab. We're trying to save your asses!"

Wade brought a hand on Rodriguez's shoulder "Come on, kid. Didn't you say, 'You will destroy them'? Time to show Cerberus what you can do." He turned to look at all the rest of the students "All of you. But after you drink your juice and eat your protein bars... and getting off this station. You guys give us Biotic support and show 'em what you're made of. You read me, boys and girls?"

"YES, SIR!"

Wade smiled and put his helmet back on. He hefted the AIE-486H and gave them a two-finger salute "Let's rock!" He turned to the Unggoy, who was fiddling on his Omni-tool "Lip, hit it."

Lipyap tilted his head before it dawned to him. He took out a vintage music player and pressed play.

'I'm all out of love, I'm so lost without you

I know you were right, believing for so long

I'm all out of love, what am I without you

I can't be too late to say that I was so wrong'

Wade turned his head to Lipyap. The Unggoy switched to the next track.

'I'll never find another girl like you

For happy endings, it takes two

We're fire and ice, a dream won't come true'

"Next!"

'I'm never gonna dance again

Guilty feet have got no rhythm

Though it's easy to pretend

I know you're not a fool

I should've known better than to cheat a friend

And waste the chance that I've been given

So I'm never gonna dance again

The way I danced with you'

'And I need you now tonight

And I need you more than ever'

"Lip, where's my playlist?"

"Oh, this isn't yours. It's mine. I like this music better."

Wade sighed "Just play whatever you want."

"Okay."

'YEEEAAAHHH

Don't wanna close my eyes

Don't wanna fall asleep

'Cause I'd miss you, baby

And I don't wanna miss a thing'

Wade shrugged "Good enough."

He charged through the door and open fire on the Cerberus troops. Lipyap, in his mech, charged inside and smashed a Cerberus trooper to a wall. He turned to the ones shooting at him and laughed "Gonna have to shoot better than that!"

Lahr dropped the Plasma Cannon and entered stealth. Sneaking up behind two Cerberus troopers, he snapped one's neck and crushed the other one's head on a wall. He sneaked up behind three troopers and activated his Plasma Sword. The three troopers turned around to shoot but was cut down by the Elite. Lahr cut off one trooper's arm and threw his body at another. He turned to the second one and stabbed him in the abdomen before cutting off his head. He turned to the final trooper, who was pinned by the first one's body and stalked over to him. He growled and grabbed the trooper's neck. With a sudden clench, the trooper's neck was crushed. Lahr dropped the body and ran back to retrieve his Plasma Cannon.

Shepard moved beside Wade as he sprayed 7.62x52mm FMJ-AP rounds all over the place. She ducked behind cover to reload and remembered the M6H2 Tactical Holly gave her. The ODST said it was quiet as a mouse and was a gift from her. It was fitted with an 18-round extended mag from the Whispering Truth. It also comes with a logo of the Helljumpers printed on the gun's handle. She equipped the Magnum and aimed at a Cerberus trooper. She fired and watched the trooper's head snap back with the force of the shot. She stared at the gun and fired a body shot at a trooper with a shield. It damaged the shield but not enough to bring it down. She fired three more body shots before the shield gave out. Without giving him a chance to recover, she fired one bullet to the head to end him.

'So four shots to bring down a shield. Got it.'

She grabbed a Cerberus trooper and twisted his arm and kicked his knee to make him kneel. Without looking, she fired round at another trooper's head before killing the one kneeling on the ground. She turned around to kill the one sneaking behind her but the trooper was pulled off his feet by Jack. Shepard finished off the trooper and gave a nod of thanks to Jack.

The group finally killed the Cerberus troops in the room and made it to a hallway. They were met by three students inside a dome. Jane turned to Lahr "These the kids you were talking about?"

"Yes. Time is of the essence, Shepard. We must leave now."

"Alright. I'll handle it. I know one of 'em."

As the Commander left to talk to the students, Lahr walked over to Wade "What news do you have on your Spartans?"

"They got the nuke inside the Cruiser and some intel too. No use for these Cerberus dogs. We already know what they know. Fireteam Eagle is already making their way back to the Achilles as we speak."

Lahr nodded before the group left for extraction. The group entered a hallway and saw an unmanned Atlas mech. It's pilot turned to the group but was killed before he could raise his gun. Shepard walked over to the mech and entered it.

"Hey!" Lipyap exclaimed "Commander Human's got a mech too! We can be mech buddies!"

Jane chuckled "Maybe."

The two lead the group up the stairs. Shepard to the top first and fired at the Cerberus troopers shooting at the student's barrier. Lipyap joined in and fired a missile before charging at the troopers. He aimed the rocket launcher at a group "Firing jerk-seekers!"

Jane looked up at Jack "Head for the shuttle! We'll hold them off."

Jack nodded and ordered her students to head for the transport. Wade looked up at Lahr "Think we should help?"

They heard a scream and saw Lipyap's Lipyap's mech stomp on a downed trooper "I smash you!"

"I think not, Spartan."

"Should we head to the shuttle?"

"Yes."

The two left the rooms and joined the others. They let the students in first and stayed at the door in case more Cerberus troopers show up. Soon, Shepard and Jack joined them but the biotic noticed someone was missing "Wait, where's Rodriguez?"

The four looked to the window and saw the student getting chased by three Cerberus. Shepard tried to break the window with the butt of her gun but Jack had other ideas. Jack uses her biotics to destroy the glass and push back the Cerberus troops. Shepard helped the student to the shuttle while Wade provided covering fire.

"Die, motherfucker!"

The Cerberus troopers were riddled with bullets. He scoffed and jogged to the shuttle "That wasn't really satisfying. No big explosions or whatever."

Wes sighed "What did you expect? It's a rescue mission. You don't blow things up on a rescue mission unless it's necessary."

Wade huffed and dropped the HMG "Whatever."

He looked around him and noticed how small of a room the shuttle had "Jesus, it's cramped in here. I'm sweating like a whore in a church."

Jack snorted "You brought a whore to a church?"

"Not me." He pointed at Wes "He did."

Jane rose an eyebrow at this "The most religious one here and you brought a whore to a church. What's the story here?"

Wade chuckled as he told the story. Meanwhile, Wes was calmly reading his bible. It's not like it was anything he was ashamed of. Vivian became his wife after all and he doesn't regret ever meeting her.

~Line Break~

"Finally!" Mindy exclaimed "They made it. Now I can detonate that nuke."

Joker's eyes widened and he stared at the AI's avatar. Mindy was hunched and rubbing her hands together in anticipation "Wait, did you say nukes!?"

Mindy straightened and turned to Joker "No. I said nuke. It's singular, which means there's only one."

Mindy went back to rubbing her hands "Kukuku~ Just a little further..."

She snapped her finger and a hologram with a live feed of the Cerberus Cruiser showed.

"Aaaand... BOOM!"

The explosion was enough to startle the crew of the Normandy. Joker looked at the hologram and watched as the 700m Cruiser was reduced to bits of debris. He idly wondered how they got a nuke inside the Cruiser.

"Isn't that a bit excessive?"

"I like 'splodin stuff."

"Why me?"

EDI looked at the UNSC AI "I fail to understand what you find so amusing."

"Uh, durr. I like destroying stuff like those squids and that Cerberus Cruiser and yo mama's ass! Oooooohhhh!"

"I don't understand. My motherboard does not have a rear end."

"Oh man. Nobody can take a joke here. Mindy, out." She beat her chest twice with her fist and gave a peace sign "Peace."

Her avatar dematerialized and the two were left to their own devices. Joker sighed and rubbed his temple "I don't think I can stand another minute with that unhinged AI."

~Line Break~

Wade rose an eyebrow in amusement as he saw Lipyap show the students a plush of the Master Chief. Jane stood beside him, watching the Unggoy tell the students the story of how he survived the 'Demon' and how he met his best friend, Lahr.

Jane looked up at the SPARTAN "I've been hearing Lipyap, Lahr and Traianus talk about the 'Demon' often. Wes told me he was a Spartan. What's the story there?"

Wade sat down on a weapon's crate and nodded for Shepard to do the same "He wasn't just any Spartan. He was THE Spartan. Mindy."

He held out his hand and Mindy's avatar materialized "October 20, 2552. Cairo Station. Sierra-117 and CTN 0452-9. Show her."

Mindy nodded and pointed at a holotank. Wade walked over to the device and inserted Mindy's chip "On October 20, 2552. Cairo Station was holding a ceremony for the survivors of Installation 04." She showed a video of a giant space station orbiting Earth "But was cut short when Covenant force of thirteen Battlecruisers and two Assault Carriers." Slipspace portals opened and the Covenant fleet have arrived "Using boarding parties, they planted antimatter charges on Athens, Cairo and Malta Stations. Athens and Malta were destroyed." Jane saw the other two stations explode as the Covenant forces retreated from a safe distance "Luckily, the Master Chief stopped the antimatter charge just in time before it detonated. He then launched himself, along with the bomb, out of airlock in a straight shot at an Assault Carrier. He activated the bomb and got away just in time to avoid it's blast radius." The video showed the Master Chief in the middle of space, holding onto the bomb and surprisingly avoided getting killed. Jane saw a Covenant destroy one of the UNSC ships but the Chief avoided the Plasma Lance. He activated the bomb and kicked it towards the Carrier's core. He was blasted away from the explosion and adjusted his trajectory to hit the In Amber Clad.

The hologram disappeared and was replaced by Mindy "The Master Chief was already a legend before this but his actions on that day cemented his status as a legend like no other. I can go on for hours, telling you all about his achievements but most of them are classified, sorry. But remember this, Commander. The Master Chief is not just a hero, he's something more. A shining light for Humanity in her darkest hour. If you want an ally against the Reapers, he would've raised your chances of winning more than we could have. This isn't over exaggeration, Shepard. It's a fact."

"She's right, Commander." Wade added "I'm a SPARTAN-IV. The Chief's a II."

"What does that mean?"

"Let me put it this way. A friend once told me this. The SPARTAN-IIs were Titans, the IIIs were Gods and the IVs were Demigods. I'm a IV. I'm just a Helljumper in a power suit. The Chief? He's a TRUE Spartan."

Jane contemplated on what the two said to her and looked at the Master Chief plush. With the way Mindy was praising him, he was sounding a lot like a godsend "Do you think he would win if he faced the Reapers?"

Wade chuckled "I don't know. You want my honest opinion? Maybe. But what else can he do when he has nothing left but fighting? He will defeat the Reapers only to protect Humanity and all her colonies, at any and all cost. Even with his life."

He got up and bade Shepard good night. Leaving the Commander to her thoughts.

~Line Break~

When they returned to Earth, Shepard was personally invited by Holly to join the funeral for the ODSTs. After culling the Reapers from Earth, mass funerals were made for those who have perished from the invasion. The Systems Alliance and the UNSC made a joint Military Funeral for all military personnel from both sides that perished from the attack. The ODSTs however had a funeral for their own. The funeral was held in Székesfehérvár, Hungary. The place where the UNSC built the first ODST Training Facility in this dimension. Now with the Overwhelming's return with the bodies from the Battle of Palaven. The ODSTs are holding their second funeral for their lost brothers and sisters-in-arms.

Shepard was led by Holly to the funeral service. Holly wearing a black dress uniform with black pants and white gloves along with a white cap. Jane was wearing her Alliance Dress Blues but with a pair of white gloves. The two made it to the funeral service and saw Wade among the group of ODSTs. He wore the same dress uniform as the rest of the attending ODSTs but she could see the jacket cling to his arms. The coffins had the ODST flag on top of them while torches stood atop the graves of the fallen.

She watched the ceremony pass by until it reached the Three-volley Salute. She suddenly hears the faint sound of music.

(Gafflwn Dihenydd)

"Attention!"

(o'r fuddugol yn wiriol sydd)

"Present, arms!"

(Ni fydd neb yn ein Drechu)

"Ready!"

(Falch ydy ni i drochu)

"Aim!"

(Traed o flaen i'r Annwn)

"Fire... Fire... Fire!"

(mewn y gwybodaeth fe godwn ni)

When the casket was buried, the ODSTs saluted and, as one, recited "We cheat Death from his rightful victory. No one can defeat us for we are glad to plunge feet first into hell in the knowledge that we will rise."


	7. SSDD: Calm

Author's Note: Nothing happening in this one. More of a filler, really.

UNSC Uniforms:

The Marines have the HALO: CE Anniversary BDUs.

Navy and Pilots have the 343i (Postwar) look.

Army and ODST have the Bungie look.

Ages:

Jane Shepard: 32

Captain William Clarke: 28

Mindy (AI): 3

Commander Wade 'Director' Daniels: 48

Holly 'Hollywood' Jones: 45

Wesley 'Wes' Kreiss: 47

Power Overwhelming:

Motto: _Morior Invictus_

Class: Orion-class Assault Carrier (Combat)

Commander: CPTN William Clarke

Notable Crew:

•CMDR Wade Daniels

•Maj. Holly Jones

•MND 0189-8/Mindy (Ship's AI)

•CPT Jeremy Cruz

•1stLt. Michael Evans

•SgtMaj. Al Apone

•LTC Joseph Turner

•2LT William Pierson

•SFC Jane Redding

Length: 2.22 km (2,220.0 m)

Width: 0.61 km (610.00 m)

Height: 0.66 km (660.01 m)

Armaments: 2 MACs, 20 Archer Missile Pods, Point-defense Guns, 3 Shiva Nukes

Complement:

2,000 Naval Personnel

Spartan-IV Fireteams

• Fireteam Eagle (4 Spartans)

• Fireteam Boar (4 Spartans)

6,000 Marines

• Marine Raider Regiment (MARSOC)

• ODST (101st Shock Troops Battalion)

2000 UNSC Army (1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division)

• 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment

• 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment

I still don't have names for the Spartans of Fireteam Eagle and Boar nor their armor and personalities so if anyone has any ideas, it's certainly welcome.

 **~7777777~**

"Alright, Ma'am. This here is the MA37 Individual Combat Weapon System. Fires 7.62x51mm Full Metal Jacket AP Rounds at 550 Rounds per Minute. 32-round mag. Short-stroke, gas-operated, rotating-bolt. 150 meter range."

Quartermaster Beckman recited as he placed the gun on the table in front of Shepard. The two were currently in the Shuttle Bay, the Quartermaster her a description of the weapons and their capabilities. He then pulled out a magnum.

"M6H2 PDW. I heard Major Jones gave you one as a present. A custom-made Tactical variant, if I recall. Fires 12.7x40mm Semi-AP High Explosive rounds. If you have a good enough aim and your target isn't heavily armored, then this is the gun for you."

Shepard raised an eyebrow "Major? I thought Holly was a Lieutenant."

"She got promoted after Palaven's moon. She oversees the Helljumper training in Hungary." He pulled back the slide and placed it next to the MA37. He then took out the next weapon "BR85 Heavy Barrel Service Rifle or Heavy Barrel Battle Rifle. Select-fire but mostly used in burst mode. Less recoil. Fires M634 Experimental High Powered Semi-AP rounds at 432 Rounds per Minute. 36-round mag. Good on all ranges. Short, Medium or Long. A personal favorite."

He placed down the Battle Rifle and stroked his beard "What next?" His eyes widened and he snapped his finger "I got just the thing."

He took out a shotgun "M45E Tactical Shotgun. Pump-action. 12 shells. Greater stopping power than the odder variants. Go and test it on armoured hostiles and see how it fairs against that and barriers."

He placed the weapon down to the nearly completed set "There's still a lotta weapons the Captain brought onboard the Normandy to go through but I'll let you figure 'em out on your own. Best to experience them than just hear about what they can do, Commander. By the way, I got some ODST, Army and Marine armor placed in the back if you're interested. The Captain said you can have Mindy customize it to make it act like your suits." He tipped his cap "Be seeing ya, Commander. I'll be heading back to Overwhelming, ma'am."

Jane nodded "Thanks, Beckman. Be seeing ya."

Beckman left and Shepard studied the weaponry the UNSC gave her. She left to look for the armors Beckman mentioned and saw three crates labeled 'Armors for Shepard'. Each one had the symbol of their respective branches. She'd already seen the Marines and ODST armor but she was curious to what the Army one looked like. She walked over to the crate and opened it. She examined the armor before asking James to help her carry the crates to her room.

~Line Break~

Wade stepped out of the shower and dried himself off. He wrapped a towel around his waist and walked to the Mess Hall, not minding the looks some of the crew gave the half-naked Spartan. Wes was sitting by the tables, conversing with Ashley about Faith, Beliefs and all things religion. Wes, without looking away from Ashley, grabbed the bottle of beer on the table and threw it at Wade. The Spartan caught it and took a big swig before nodding his thanks. He turned around and headed for the Elevator. Once the doors opened, he was met by the sight of a conversing Shepard and Diana Allers. He walked in between them and calmly drank his beer. He nodded in greeting.

Instead of eyeing his body, unlike Allers, Jane was eyeing the beer in his hands "You know that drinking in the job is against regulations, right?"

Wade shrugged "Off duty."

He continued to sip on the bottle, unaware of the journalist's eyes gazing lower. Shepard saw this and smirked in amusement. She shook her head before the Elevator stopped at the Armor Deck. It was added for the machine that is used to help Wade remove and apply the Mjolnir Power Armor. It also became Wade's quarters. Wade walked out the lift and entered his quarters. Allers kept staring while Jane watched her in amusement.

'If only that towel was a little lower or wasn't there at all. Oh, well.' She thought to herself before restarting the conversation she had with Diana.

~Line Break~

After one 'exclusive' interview with the journalist, Jane watched Diana leave her cabin. A one time thing, huh? She idly wondered if she was ever gonna get tied down if they survive the Reapers. She once heard James talk about an Asari friend he met on a mission, apparently they were more than friends now. Wade's got Holly. Wes has a wife back in their dimension. Kenneth and Gabby had their own thing going. She sighed. Not the time to be thinking about it.

She got up from the bed and yawned. She grabbed a shirt, Holly's ODST PT shirt, but stopped midway when she saw her reflection in the mirror. She saw the scars that ran through her body. How long had she been fighting? Sovereign, the Collectors and now the Reapers. Will she even have a body left if they win this? Shaking her head, she wore the shirt. Huh, tight fit. She walked over to her dresser and looked for her underwear. She saw package with a note taped to it.

"A little something for you, Janey. -Holly XOXO"

She dropped the note and opened the package. She chuckled as she took out a black and red, lacy lingerie. She saw another package and unwrapped it. She let out a laugh as she saw the contents of the package. A black strap-on dildo and a bottle of lube. She saw another note and read it.

"Next time, tiger~"

She crumpled the note and hid the strap-on and lube. She stored the lacy lingerie and walked over to her desk before taking out her custom M6H2 Tactical. Like she always does with her guns, she disassembled while trying to familiarize herself with the weapon. After hearing Beckman's description of the weapons, she has to see examine all their ammunition types. She realized that the bullets they uses were either AP, HE or Semi-AP rounds. She wonders how did their weapons faired against the Covenant's shield tech. Unlike the Citadel Races and the SA, the UNSC didn't have kinetic barriers and energy shields were not standard-issue to their ground infantry. Only Spartans had energy shields. Jane wondered how Traianus, Lahr and Lipyap were doing with their arsenal. After seeing Lahr used that Plasma Cannon, she wanted one. She looked at her arms and decided she needed to work out more if she wanted to even lift the HMG Wade used in Grissom Academy.

She examined the weapon in front of her before quickly reassembling the Magnum and storing it away. She got up from the desk and started doing pushups.

"1...2...3...4..."

~Line Break~

"Captain, the War Games Simulator has been completed. Right now, only Firebase Vancouver has it. I am so glad a copied those schematics. Anyway, the Alliance Command wanted to see it first hand and asked if the Normandy Crew would be the first one to train in it."

William hummed before nodding "Notify Shepard, Mindy. Tell her she can bring the ground team with her. They'll be going against some Marines, ODSTs and Infantry. No Spartans, not yet."

Mindy placed her hands on hips "So, it's Easy mode then Normal then Hard then Legendary. Like a video game, right?"

William shrugged "If you say it like that, then yes. Like a video game. Oh, and stick with the UNSC, Alliance and Citadel guns. The only Covenant tech they'll get are the only ones Traianus, Lahr and Lipyap brought with them. So, no Covie vehicles."

"Oh, boo. Can I still put in the Hunters?"

"Any other Covenant species is acceptable. But keep the Forerunners and Flood a secret. God knows they already have their plate full with Protheans and Reapers and whatnot."

"Of course, sir. Mindy, out." Her avatar dematerialized and William was left to tend to more incoming projects. The Cyclops are green. They're still working on the Colossus. Jackrabbit production is currently underway. M290 Mongoose or Mothergoose were already running around the Firebases. Recruits are flooding in, every single one of them wanting to fight for the safety of Earth and the Galaxy. He wondered how the Army was doing.

~Line Break~

"I think they had enough Pierson."

Second Lieutenant William Pierson scoffed before dismissing the recruits. These new guys are too soft, those Reapers are gonna eat them for lunch. Literally and metaphorically. Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Turner walked over to Pierson as he watched the recruits salute him. He saluted back before turning to Pierson "All that peptalk from Red and your still making these recruits live through Hell."

"It's for their own good. If they can't handle this then they can't handle being in the Bloody First."

Turner shook his head "We still need recruits you know."

"Fine. I'll tone it down a bit. By the way, where the hell is Redding?"

Turner chuckled "She's a bit preoccupied with an old friend. Got a leave for the week."

Pierson sighed and rubbed his temple "I expected something better from a BRO Infantry. Not have her fucking a Helljumper for a week."

Meanwhile...

"Oh God! Harder! Harder!"

"This bed's not gonna last another day... Ohh~"

"That's it! I ride top, you shut up!"

"Jane, wait! Oomp-"

~Line Break~

"...98...99...100."

Jane let out an exhausted sigh. 100 Push-ups, Pull-ups and Crunches. She's gonna need a dumbbell and a treadmill installed in her room soon. Grabbing a towel, a change of clothes and the lingerie, she hit the showers. While the Commander was busy freshening up, Wade entered her cabin to inform her of the War Games Simulator. Hearing the shower running, the Spartan decided to lounge on the couch and took out his datapad. He needed to know what happened to Ibarra and Elias.

Jane stepped out of the shower and dried herself. Who knew this lingerie was comfy as fuck? She tossed the towel on her chair and saw Wade on the couch, reading from a datapad. She chuckled as he gasped and brought a hand to his mouth. A big man like him and he gasps like that, that was a funny image. He didn't even notice her even as she stood in front of him.

'That's Patriotism, right there.' His thoughts were interrupted by a cough. He looked up from his datapad and saw Shepard in a very, familiar set of underwear 'Isn't that Holly's?'

He shook his head and stood up "Sorry for intruding, Shepard. But the Captain told me to tell ya that the War Games Simulator is fully functional. He invited you and the Normandy crew to be the first ones to try it. He'll brief you the rest of the details once you're there."

He rose an eyebrow as he checked her out "Holly gave that to you?"

"Yeah."

Wade chuckled "That was hers. Only saw it a couple of times years ago. I gotta say, you look nice. Got a very important date, Shepard? Got a lucky man and/or woman waiting, eh?"

Jane shook her head before grabbing an N7 shirt and military pants "Just thought I'd try it out. Didn't know this was so comfy."

"That's what she said the first time. Be seeing ya." Wade left, still thinking about reading back to where he left off. Jane watched him leave and decided to contact Captain Clarke. She's gonna have to decline that offer until her team is assembled. Hopefully, he understands. Maybe even help her find them and get them back together.

~Line Break~

"She declined, Admiral Hackett. She says she wants her team first before going in the simulation."

"Alright, I guess we'll have to do without her. I'll have Anderson send some of the N7s. They're the best we got."

William nodded "Of course. We'll go with the Warzone simulation first. 12 participants from both sides. Their objective. Take out the opposing team's core or be the first to reach a thousand points. Points are obtained from taking out bosses, holding bases and eliminative enemy combatants. There are three bases and if all of them are captured by one team, the opposition's core will be vulnerable for attack. Weapons issued are UNSC, Alliance and Citadel made. There are different variations of Warzone but we'll start with the basic one. That'll be all, Admiral. I'll be overseeing how our Fortresses are doing."

"Of course."

They saluted each other before cutting off the feed. What William didn't tell was that the UNSC were currently building ships for the Home Fleet. He made sure that the Fortresses had underground bases to build ships. The underground bases aren't connected yet but it soon will be. On topside, they seem like normal bases but down below was something bigger. All the materials provided by the Alliance was a big help. Besides, as far as they know, most of these materials go to rebuilding cities and producing more UNSC arsenal. He turned to the terminal and said "Mindy, status underground?"

"Not fast enough. We need more manpower and resources to remake the Home Fleet like it was back on our dimension. We don't have those and we don't have the time. The Reapers are already pushing almost everyone in the galaxy into a corner. I heard that Doctor T'soni was working on uncovering the clues of a Prothean weapon. It could be the key to stopping those Reapers."

William sighed "I wish we had Battlegroup Dakota here. The Infinity could do much more than this old ship. Anyway, Mindy. Set a course for Earth. We're establishing UNSC HQ in Sydney."

"Affirmative, sir. Do you think there's an alternate version of Chips there?"

"Heh. Maybe, we'll find out soon enough."

~Line Break~

"So, Commander. Where are you off to?"

"I'm going to the Citadel. See if I can get some stationing and housing for the students. Give the crew shore leave."

Mindy nodded "Alright, Shep. I'll relay it to them. By the way, do you want me to customize those armor the Captain sent you?"

"Go ahead."

Mindy's avatar blinked out and Shepard walked of of her cabin. She entered the Elevator and headed for the CIC. Once there, she spotted Lahr observing the galaxy map.

"Hmm. How intriguing." His stomach growled and he grunted. He then left the galaxy map and walked over to Lipyap, who was tinkering with a M-6 Carnifex. The Unggoy looked up at the Elite and gave him a bundle of bananas. Shepard couldn't help but chuckle as she watched the Elite eat banana after banana after banana 'til there was none. To think, these aliens that are so efficient in killing have their own little quirks. Traianus has his music player, Lipyap has his Master Chief plush and Lahr has his bananas. It's quite refreshing seeing that. She shook her head and walked over to the galaxy map.

"Joker, head for the Relay. We're going to the Citadel for a shore leave."

"Heading there now, Commander."

"Psst. Hey, Joker."

Jane could hear the pilot let out an exasperated sigh "What is it?"

"Now, EDI. Hold him down!"

"Wait, what's!?"

"Don't worry, Jeff. This won't take long."

"What are you-"

"Sing it, Toots."

"Very well. Daisy, Daisy..."

"Oh, Hell no!"

"Ahahahahaha!"

Jane smirked at her crew's antics. Two AIs in her ship. If this was two years ago, she would be in jail by now. Well, time to see if anyone in the Citadel got something for her to do. She always said it will be the last time she help but she couldn't stop herself. Her conscious wouldn't let her... and the rewards are pretty good too.

'Credits in hand, meet body in dirt. I think you'll get along just fine.'


	8. SSDD: Interlude

"So Vakarian, got a special lady friend waiting for you?"

Garrus stopped cleaning his sniper and looked over at the Spartan. Wade wiggled his eyebrows at the Turian while loading bullets to his M6H2 magazines. The Spartan was roaming around the Normandy and making small talk with any of the crew that stayed behind. One of them was Garrus. The two began talking about weapons and sharing their stories. Garrus' time in Omega and Wade's bar fights and mishaps.

Before the Turian could answer, the Elevator doors opened.

"Easy question, Daniels. No one. Not with that ugly mug for a face. Hell, Garrus has always been ugly even before his face got fucked up."

Garrus and Wade turned to the speaker. Shepard nodded in greeting and sat on a crate.

"Nice to see you too, Shepard."

Garrus threw a rag towards her face while Wade threw a polish. She caught both items before giving them the finger "Suck it."

"So Shepard, why are you wasting your time with us? I thought you wanted shore leave?" Wade began.

Jane shrugged "I had a few things to do. Talked to some old friends, got those kids a place to crash, did the old run around the Citadel and do stuff for people for money. The usual. Went better than I expected."

She placed her M55 Argus Assault Rifle on her lap and began the process of cleaning it. Garrus finished cleaning his weapon, a Kyrsae Sniper Rifle. He looked through the scope and examined the rest of the weapon, letting out a satisfied hum before storing it away. Wade nodded to himself before holstering the M6. He then took out the second M6 strapped on his chest. This one was his old M6C/SOCOM from his ODST days. From trainee to Spartan-IV, this gun has yet to fail him. The three fell into a comfortable silence.

Mindy's avatar materialized on a nearby terminal. She looked back and forth between the three and crossed her arms "What the heck is this? Book club but with guns? All that's missing now is James and it's complete."

"Adult stuff, Mindy."

"Hey! I maybe three years old but I'm sure as hell smarter than the three of you combined!"

"Yeah, yeah. You smart, we dumdum. We praise small, smart, snarky, glowy yellow brat. Is that what you wanna hear?" Wade replied. Practicing his quick-aim.

Mindy huffed, her hands on her hips, and blew a raspberry before dematerializing "Later, scrubs!"

It wasn't long before Shepard decided that shore leave was over. She told the crew over the comms to return to the Normandy and waited by the galaxy map for them. She rose an eyebrow as Lipyap came in with all sorts of knickknacks. A baseball cap with the Citadel printed on it. Some gadgets and whatnot. And, surprisingly, a plush version of her. It was like seeing a tourist come out of a gift shop. The only difference was, the Unggoy had twenty different guns on a wagon. Lahr was next, carrying a bag full of bananas. She'll never understand the Elite's obsession with the fruit.

"Commander, Captain Clarke is requesting to speak with you."

"Alright. Mindy!"

"Yeah?"

"Can you patch him through my room?"

"Of course."

Shepard nodded and left the CIC. She went to her cabin and walked over to her terminal and the screen showed the UNSC Captain's face.

"Commander, how's the shore leave?"

"Pretty good. Is there anything you need, Captain?"

"There is. I'm taking Power Overwhelming to the Citadel. Primarch Victus will be transfered to the Normandy when we get there. Plus, we'll be helping out with the refugees. Mutual agreement with the Alliance HIGHCOM. Expect to see some of their ships here soon. We'll follow after."

"That all, sir?"

"That's all. No offence but, I'd rather the diplomats be YOUR headache than mine. God knows it'll only be a matter of time before I actually put a bullet in their heads. I heard the Krogans don't take too kindly with the Salarians. So yeah, good luck with that."

Jane sighed "I can already see where this is going."

William chuckled and shrugged "I got a good shipment of whiskey, wine, etc. here. I'll open one for you after the shitstorm, yeah?"

Jane smirked "That'll be nice. Looking forward to it."

"Excellent. See ya soon, Commander. Clarke, out."

~Line Break~

"So tell me again why I have to be the one here? I got Helljumpers in the making, waiting to be tortu- I mean, trained back on Earth."

William looked at the ODST, who was leaning on the doorway. Her face, settled in a bored expression. He stepped away from the terminal and faced Holly "You will be assigned as my personal security team, along with Wade."

"Why would you need a security team for? I'm pretty sure the Citadel is safe. Besides, you were just gonna drop off the Primarch. Right?"

William nodded "Yes, but I'll also be talking with the Council. I need to know how their situation on the Reapers is going. The more these squids take over a planet, the more shit is dropped to our plate. I need the security team because I fear that Cerberus may attempt to assassinate the Council and me. It's too big of an opportunity to pass for them."

Holly snorted "I see where you're going with this. Is it just the two of us or do we have any sort of backup?"

"Fireteam Eagle will be on standby. I would've had Tombstone in their place but I sent them to investigate a suspected meeting between a rogue Alliance cell and Cerberus in Baku. From what we've gathered, this rogue cell is lead by N7 Agents and are trading stolen UNSC tech for money. They got their hands on those tech through sabotaging a supply run. They ambushed UNSC supply trucks, killed the crew and stole their equipment and cargo. I want them dead but the majority of the Alliance refuse to believe that rogue N7 Agents did this. I need proof and Tombstone's gonna get it. If the Alliance wants a trial for those agents, then they can kiss my ass."

Holly shrugged "Understood, Captain. Just let me grab my gear. How long 'til we get there?"

"About an hour, give or take. Dismissed."

~Line Break~

Baku, Azerbaijan

"Fuck."

Sergeant Daniel 'Reck' Recker silently cursed as he checked the clip of his MA5D. No bullets. How did he even loose all his mags? Oh, wait. He didn't. He took the DMR mags instead of the MA5 ones. He shook his head and made his way to the safe house. Luckily, they set up an ammo crate there.

Traversing through the abandoned school and avoided getting the Cerberus Operatives' notice. Recker finally reached the safe room. As soon as he entered, someone grabbed his weapon and aimed an M6 on his face.

"Drop it!"

Recker looked to his assailant and saw his teammate, Sergeant Clayton 'Pac' Pakowski. Pac looked surprise d before releasing his grip on the rifle and holstering his Magnum "Dammit, Recker... I almost shot you in the face. You lost your tail."

The door behind him opened and the two Marine Spec Ops aimed their rifles at the newcomer. The newcomer, Staff Sergeant William Dunn, was pointing his gun at them before lowering it "Ease up, Pac. Where the hell have you been?"

"After the handoff went pear shaped. I came straight here. Cerberus Operatives, right? They got indoctrinated with Reaper tech."

"Take deep breaths, son." Dunn tried to calm him down "Still got the Intel?"

Pac looked panicked for a second before nodding "Yeah, yeah, got it."

"Nice play."

Dunn walked over the barricaded windows and saw the sunlight piercing through "Shit. It's already daylight, we gotta get to the extraction point. You got a 20 on Irish?"

"I thought he was with you."

"I'm breaking radio silence. Tombstone Three, this is Tombstone Actual. What's your 20?"

"This is Tombstone Three, inbound from the north. Coming in hot!" Dunn looked at Pac and the two took down the windows' barricade "Requesting cover fire on my retreat!"

"Clean copy, Irish. We got you!" He then turned to Recker "Gear up and get ready, Recker. Take position by the window, we gotta cover Irish!"

Recker opened the ammo crate and took the necessary amount of mags for his MA5D. He then picked up the DMR and moved to the middle window. Outside, civilians and cars were already moving about. They heard screams and gunfire coming from the café across the street.

Staff Sergeant Kimble 'Irish' Graves broke through the ground floor window as he was tackled by a FENRIS mech. He managed to fight it off and sprayed a few bullets to it's head, destroying it. "Motherfucker." He ran away from the mech's blast zone and took cover from behind a parked car.

"Ground floor from the windows. Three of them. Light 'em up!"

The trio opened fire on the windows, taking out the Cerberus operatives.

"Inbound from the north!"

Recker looked through the DMR's sights and took the two operatives out with a perfect headshot. He saw something on his peripheral vision and aimed the DMR to the left. Two more operatives hid behind cover but the moment they tried to peek, they got a bullet burst through their heads.

"Nice shooting, Recker. Irish, get up here!" Dunn yelled.

"Anything still moving?" Pac asked.

"Negative. Hey, gimme a hand."

"You okay, Irish?"

Dunn and Pac pulled Irish up through the window. Irish sighed and said "Yeah. Guess this safe house ain't so safe."

Dunn walked over to the door he came in and nodded for them to move along "Tombstone, on the move."

~Line Break~

"Citadel, this Overwhelming Actual. Requesting permission to dock."

"State your business."

"We're here to transfer Primarch Victus to the SSV Normandy."

"...Permission granted."

With a nod to the helmsman, the Combat Assault Carrier docked to the Citadel. The refugees and civilians watched as Captain William Clarke, along with Primarch Victus, Wade and Holly, exited the Carrier. The four were then followed by a train cart filled with food, water, etc. And the Marines started handing them out to the civilians. When Shepard met with them, she was wearing her Alliance Dress Blues. She observed how the UNSC prioritized Human refugees first before the aliens. She saw Holly just wearing her ODST shirt, fatigue pants, combat boots, combat gloves and a holographic eyepiece. She wore a shoulder holster with an M6H2 Gunfighter and a knife. A M6C/SOCOM was holstered on her right hip and her belt was filled ammo packs. A black military cap adorned her head with the ODST logo on the front.

Wade on the other hand, wore his full MJOLNIR armor. A MA5B and a BR85HB were holstered on his back. His pistols were holstered and strapped on his hip and chest respectively. His blast shield was down but his visor was still polarized in that menacing red color.

Captain Clarke and the Primarch stood in between them. She looked back to the Carrier and saw Traianus hand out supplies to the Citadel races. A Volus came over and had a chat with the Jiralhanae. She didn't know what was passed between the two but the Brute followed after the little guy.

"Commander Shepard." Victus greeted "It's a pleasure to see you again. I heard there was an incident in a Biotics academy involving Cerberus. Is everything alright?"

"It's fine, Primarch. The kids and staff were evacuated here and the Cerberus threat was handled. The bastards tried to kidnap the kids and indoctrinate them with Reaper tech. We made sure none were left alive."

Victus nodded while Wade chuckled though no one heard because of the helmet.

"Well, Shepard. The Primarch's yours. I'll be discussing some things with the Council, if you don't mind. Be seeing ya."

Shepard saluted and William returned it before leaving. Wade and Holly followed. Jane and Victus watched them go before Shepard led the Primarch to the Normandy.

~Line Break~

"Go! Move, move, move!"

"The building's going down!"

"Dunn, you better get moving! They are bombing the hell out of you! We'll be making a hot extraction on the roof, you better hurry. Falcon's nearly bingo fuel."

"Copy that. Tombstone, hustle up!" Dunn yelled before vaulting over a piece of debris.

"This is bullshit!" Irish yelled as he dodged a falling pillar.

Tombstone made it into the roof and saw the Falcon waiting for them.

"Come on, jump for it!"

Dunn, Irish and Pac jumped and got on the transport. Recker would've jumped but the ground underneath him gave up and he was sent sliding to the floor below. His trip wasn't over as the floor below also gave out and sent him tumbling towards the edge of the building. He managed to hold on to the edge and looked down at how high he was. He felt his grip loosen as the bombing continued.

"Recker!"

He lost his grip and fell to the ground. Hard. The last thing he saw was a piece of debris landing on him before blacking out.

~Line Break~

"It is yours for 6k, do we have a deal?"

Shepard blinked twice at what she was seeing. She stopped by to talk to Thane when she passed by a very peculiar sight. Traianus was talking to a human about selling a car. A blue and yellow striped tie adorned his armor and he had a datapad in his hand.

She shook her head and lead the Primarch to the Normandy. So Traianus was selling cars now, what next? Holly becoming a farmer. No, too farfetched. Maybe a stripper? Nah, she'll probably punch the guy who offered her to be one in the first place.

"Welcome back, Commander."

Her thoughts were interrupted by Mindy's voice and realized they were already in the Normandy. The AI's avatar appeared on a nearby terminal to greet. It became a more common sight since EDI had her new body.

"How would you like it, Commander? Cream and sugar or bitter, like Joker when he's on his period."

"I heard that!

Shepard rubbed her temple while Victus had a slightly amused expression "At least this won't be boring as I thought it would be."

Jane sighed "It ain't boring but it sure is a headache. Follow me, I'll take you to the War Room. But I have to warn you, the elevator is slower than a Volus with a broken leg."

"Not anymore." Mindy's voice sounded through the PA system "I made a few adjustments and thanks to Chief Adams, we managed to make that elevator as fast as a normal elevator! Isn't it great?"

Shepard shrugged before the two entered the elevator.

~Line Break~

Recker...

Recker...

RECKER...

Recker's eyes snapped open the debris on top of him was removed.

"Dunn, I found Recker! He's buried deep, I need help diggin' him out." Irish yelled over his shoulder. He turned back to Recker "Don't worry, Reck. We're gonna get you outta there. Pac! Call in Hawkins, we need a MEDEVAC!"

"On it!"

Dunn ran over to the other side of Irish and the two heaved the debris off of the Marine.

"Doesn't look too bad, son. At least it doesn't look like popped sausage." Dunn commented before the two continued to dig out Recker. Pac ran over to them.

"Hawkins is here! Let's go!" He nodded to Recker "Jesus, Reck. You gave us a goddamn scare, dude. Let's get you home." He lead the three to the Falcon. Hawkins waved to them. Tombstone Squad had completed their mission. They have the evidence of the rogue N7s and killed the Cerberus operatives they were making deals with.

As Recker was hauled in the Falcon, he wondered how Marlowe and Bad Company were doing. Last he heard, Sergeant Redford was supposed to retire before the Slipspace anomaly happened.

~Line Break~

"Sergeant Redford. I'll keep it short and sweet. Your job is to find this man and bring him back. Alive... or full of holes... or in pieces. Whichever Bad Company finds his sorry ass in. Anyway, we just read the intel Tombstone Squad gave us. This guy is one of the rogues that sabotaged a UNSC supply convoy. Tombstone managed to kill some of those rogues when they were recording evidence of their dealings with Cerberus. There are two more rogues on the loose and this one is your first target."

Sergeant Samuel 'Sarge' Redford studied the man's face.

'Cocky looking bastard. Getting too old for this shit. How long have I been looking for that goddamn retirement?'

"How do we engage?"

"You can always do it quietly. But with your boys, that never works. So bring the big guns and go loud but no civilian casualties. Even if they're alien."

Redford scoffed and cocked his MA5D "Guess I better tell the boys."

Mindy chuckled "Good luck with the kids."

"Luck? I need God himself for those boys."

~Line Break~

"Well that was uneventful as fuck."

"We get it, Holly. You're bored now shut up."

"Did you just tell me to shut up?"

"Uh, no, no. Of course. W-when have I ever told you to shut up? Captain, did I tell her to shut up?"

"I'm not getting into this."

Holly huffed "Yeah, that's what I thought."

The three left the Council Chamber and walked around the Presidium. William had to admit, the Citadel is quite a beauty. If the Ark and the Halo Installations were beautiful for it's landscapes and greenery, the Citadel was a beautiful urban jungle. He watched as aliens and humans walked beside together without killing each other. William sat on a bench, lost in thought. This was normal for him, to just sit and think about anything other than the war.

Holly and Wade saw this before sitting on a bench adjacent to their Captain. Wade leaned back with his arms behind his head while Holly slouched. They'll savor whatever time they had here 'cause these quiet imes were very rare for them.

"Have you ever thought about retiring?"

"No. I'll retire when I feel like it."

"But don't you ever think that maybe we can live some place quiet? Away from all this, after we're done here, that is."

"Wade... we did that once. We had a nice a little house in the middle of nowhere. Just the three of us and look at how that turned out. One year in and you went back to service. Few years down the road, you volunteered to be a SPARTAN-IV. Wil... died. I went back into service. Face it, Wade. We weren't meant for a life outside of war. But even if we are, I'm too afraid to get my hopes up only to get it dashed away again."

Wade looked at Holly. Life never did get easy with them. But where she's afraid to hope, he wasn't. He still hoped that they will have their happy ending. Call him delusional but that's what he believes in. He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. God knows how they managed to lived through the Great War.

Holly looked up at Wade as he depolarized his helmet and gave her a smile. She returned it with a smile of her own and squeezed his hand back.


End file.
